Last spring, the leadership of the Interior Ministry spoke of 400,000 potential refugees who could apply to the German authorities for asylum this year. By mid-year, this figure had already increased to 450,000, and by the end of the summer, the number of refugees in 2015 was estimated at half a million people.
Another proposal, the implementation of which should sharply reduce the flow of refugees, was made last week by Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière. The Christian Democrat called for a revision of the financial assistance program for persons applying for asylum in the Federal Republic. According to the politician, today's legislation on the amount of benefits is 'too attractive', and the minister was told this by his colleagues from other European countries. Thus, the amount of payments provided for refugees 'is sometimes even higher than the monthly salary of an ordinary citizen in Albania or Kosovo'. That is why, de Maizière is sure, 'debates are needed on European standards of human dignity, the amount of benefits or services'.
Meanwhile, as 'Russkaya Germaniya' notes, the possibilities of politicians to reduce the amount of benefits for refugees are quite small. The fact is that the Federal Constitutional Court once clearly stated that social assistance should also apply to persons applying for asylum in Germany, since it is a matter of justice and human dignity. German legislators responded to this court ruling by setting the amounts of financial payments for refugees comparable to the size of unemployment benefits. Thus, asylum seekers who no longer live in the initial reception center for refugees now receive 356 euros per month, and a family of four receives 1,144 euros.
Thomas de Maizière proposes to pay refugees less cash, but provide them with more services. 'We should carefully consider the issue of so-called pocket money. And definitely should not pay cash for months in advance, because this money only goes to human traffickers,' the head of the Interior Ministry stated. At the same time, the minister primarily noted the need to apply this rule to people from Balkan states.
Notably, the Association of German Cities and Municipalities (DStGB) wholeheartedly supported de Maizière's proposal. In a document prepared for the Federal Government, the association demands a revision of the entire current system of benefits for refugees. At the same time, the DStGB considers it necessary to start a political and public discussion on reintroducing a visa regime for refugees from the Balkans, if 'the inflow of people from these states, despite all measures, continues.' The association estimates the number of refugees this year at 600,000. 'Based on this, we need to reconsider refugee policy from an organizational, personnel and financial point of view,' the document says.
Meanwhile, Vice President of the Bundestag, representative of the Greens, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, is sure that 'the thesis that the number of refugees can be regulated by reducing the amount of benefits is false.' 'People flee to Germany not because the situation in Germany is too attractive, but because the situation in their homeland is catastrophic,' the politician emphasized.