Germany Mulls Scaling Back Ukrainian Refugee Benefits

(MENAFN) A top official in German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s administration on Monday endorsed a controversial proposal to scale back social welfare for Ukrainian refugees, aligning with a demand from the government’s coalition partner.

Thorsten Frei, who serves as Merz’s chief of staff and Minister for Special Tasks, voiced agreement with Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Markus Söder’s call to eliminate welfare payments for Ukrainians currently receiving the federal “citizen's benefit” (Bürgergeld).

“Söder is right when he says that we are providing benefits that no other country in the world does,” Frei told media outlets, referring to the uniquely generous financial assistance extended to Ukrainian refugees—support not typically granted to other asylum seekers in Germany.

He also raised concerns about labor force participation among Ukrainian refugees, highlighting a troubling employment gap. “It's far too little when only one in three employable Ukrainians is actually working,” Frei stated.

Söder had proposed on Sunday to terminate Bürgergeld payments for all Ukrainian refugees, not just new arrivals, a stance that pushes beyond a May agreement among Germany’s governing parties. That agreement—reached between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD)—established that, starting April 1, only refugees arriving after that date would be shifted to the lower asylum seeker benefits.

Germany has absorbed over 1 million Ukrainian refugees since Russia's invasion in 2022. According to a public broadcaster, the country spent €46.9 billion ($54.3 billion) on Bürgergeld last year, including €6.3 billion ($7.3 billion) for Ukrainians alone.

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