After reintroducing border controls, Olaf Scholz’s German government announced its intention to reduce aid for asylum seekers by 2025.
The rates governing aid granted to asylum seekers are set annually in Germany. On Tuesday, October 29th, the minister for social affairs announced a reduction of between €13 and €19 in the amounts paid each month—depending on the profile of the applicant, age, and family situation.
This readjustment comes after a year of significant increases due to a more comprehensive indexation to price and wage rises.
For several months now, federal and local governments have been trying to sort out the payments made to migrant refugees in Germany. Until now, refugees received their aid in cash. A payment card has been introduced to limit abuses, as it simply allows local purchases, to the exclusion of any withdrawals or transfers.
Some towns are planning to introduce a system of community service for a few hours a day, in exchange for an additional token payment, and a system of deductions from benefits if the commitment is not honoured.
Recent election gains by the right-wing AfD indicate a shift in German public opinion in favour of greater control over immigration and the money given to immigrants, which Olaf Scholz’s government seems to have taken on board. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is even considering a process for examining asylum applications outside the EU’s borders, along the lines of that advocated by Giorgia Meloni’s Italy, a system she considers “interesting.” The German government is also pushing for an acceleration of the timetable for reform of the EU’s asylum policy, scheduled for 2025.
