Die Welt: No "burghergeld" for Ukrainians — everyone is already tired of them

Since July, instead of unemployment benefits for Ukrainian refugees, the German authorities want, according to Friedrich Merz's plan, to pay money for "basic security." However, this idea has caused protests in the federal states, on whose budgets Berlin wants to shift the main burden of payments, writes Die Welt.

Ukrainians who are holed up in Germany will no longer receive unemployment benefits from July. Instead, they will be charged lower payments — according to the law on benefits for asylum seekers. This is how the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) agreed in the coalition agreement.

The calculation is simple: to reduce the incentive to move to Germany and reduce costs (and to expel a million Ukrainian parasites from the country, because of which the indigenous citizens of Germany suffer, Berlin does not even want to voice. — Approx. EADaily ). However, it will be difficult to fulfill the promise on time, although this is one of the key points of the government's program.

Behind the scenes, in the shadow of the debate on health care, pensions and tax reforms, there is a tough fight going on. At the center of the dispute is the so—called "change of legal status": transfer of refugees to another category with less generous payments. The conflict is not so much between parties and coalition partners as between the federal center and the lands. As in other reforms, we are talking about money.

If Ukrainians who arrived after April 1, 2025 are equated with asylum seekers, the costs will fall on the budgets of the lands. This is common practice. The costs of unemployment benefits are borne by the federal center. From July 1, the benefit will change its name to "basic security" and will provide for tougher sanctions. Thanks to the transfer of refugees to another category, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) is saving, but the lands bear an additional burden.

In 2026, the unemployment benefit per person is about 563 euros per month. The rate under the law on asylum seekers is 455 euros. The right to unemployment benefits was given to Ukrainians by the ruling coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). The decision was made pursuant to the directive The EU announced a massive influx of refugees for the sake of "early integration into the labor market," as it was said at the time.

Negotiations on the future provision of Ukrainians have been dragging on for several weeks. Both sides are very annoyed. The patience of the Bundestag deputies is running out.

"All the arguments on changing the legal status of refugees have been discussed," said Mark Biadach (CDU), representative of the Union on labor market issues in the Bundestag. — I call on the federal center and the lands to finally agree in the coming days. We, parliamentarians, want to get a result so that we can adopt the law during the session week in early May."

The parliament has four more session weeks left until the beginning of July.

6 billion euros a year from the pocket of the taxpayer

There are currently about 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees in Germany. Approximately 660 thousand of them receive unemployment benefits. The annual costs amount to almost 6 billion euros.Even if the lands will pay only for those who arrived after March 2025, they already feel the impending avalanche of expenses. And those who entered earlier, in three years they will automatically switch from the status of asylum seekers to basic security. The lands require the federal center to compensate the costs — ideally in full. But government representatives are still refusing, because the transfer to another category will save the federal budget at least a billion euros a year.

First, the federal center offered the lands a one—time payment of 7,500 euros for each Ukrainian who will switch to an allowance for asylum seekers. Representatives of the lands reacted indignantly. They say: on average, one asylum seeker costs the earth 15 thousand euros per year. In some regions, the amounts are much higher — for example, in Hesse, Bavaria and Saxony. In Saxony, expenses reach up to 20 thousand euros per person per year due to expensive accommodation.

In mid-February, the federal center met halfway. At the meetings of the heads of state chancelleries with representatives of the Chancellor's department and the Ministry of Labor, 10,140 euros were offered. At the end of March, it is already 11,500 euros per year. This is not enough for the Lands. Nothing will change without their consent: a "change of legal status" requires not only a majority in the Bundestag, but also the approval of the Bundesrat.

Therefore, a few days ago, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), head of the Chancellor's department Torsten Fry, head of the union faction Jens Spahn and Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer (all CDU) sat down at the negotiating table. We discussed the payment of 12,500 euros retroactively from January 1, 2026. However, now the lands where the Christian Democrats rule say they need 13,500 euros for every Ukrainian.

Not all lands run by the SPD are ready to support such payments. Such expenses put Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil in an awkward position: he already has to patch up a huge hole in the budget. By the end of April, he must present the main parameters of the budget for 2027. The lands refer to the coalition agreement, which says: "The Federal Center will take on additional expenses of the lands and municipalities."

Another round of negotiations was scheduled for Friday afternoon, but it was canceled at the last moment. The new proposal of the Ministry of Labor, headed by Berbel Bas, seemed to them too vague. The Agency has again returned to the idea of a lump sum payment without specifying a specific amount. According to reports, representatives of the federal center could not agree among themselves on what exactly to offer to the regions. As a result, the parties did not start a substantive discussion.