German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the government's intention to reform the social assistance system and introduce stricter requirements for recipients of benefits. Among those who may undergo changes are the unemployed, the low-income, as well as refugees, in particular from Ukraine.
This is reported by Deutsche Welle.
According to Merz, the state will continue to support those who really need help. However, in his opinion, people who are able to work should do so. "People who can work should work," the Chancellor emphasized, advocating for a change in the approach to social security.
He separately mentioned possible changes in the rules regarding housing payments. This includes, in particular, the introduction of restrictions on the amount of rent or a review of the area that beneficiaries can occupy.
Merz also announced plans to introduce a basic income as a replacement for the current system of social benefits. This could happen as early as 2026. According to his assessment, such a reform would save Germany "more than one or two billion euros." At the same time, he emphasized that the change in the system should be implemented gradually.
The Chancellor assured that the main goal of the reform is to guarantee support for those who really need it. However, for those who are deliberately not working or are only partially employed, the current system, in his opinion, is inappropriate.
Merz also expressed his readiness to increase payments for people who have lost their jobs unexpectedly in order to enable them to return to the labor market more quickly.
As a reminder, at the end of January 2025, approximately 1,170,250 people or 27.3% of all Ukrainians in the EU were in Germany. Of these, almost 300,000 were officially employed as of November 2024, according to the Federal Labor Agency.
Meanwhile, the Swiss authorities are planning to change their approach to providing protection to Ukrainian citizens who were forced to leave their homeland due to full-scale russian military aggression. Soon, only residents of certain Ukrainian regions will be able to apply for assistance.
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