Ukraine - Criticism of citizens' allowance for refugees causes outrage
Criticism from Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) on the citizen's pension for Ukrainian refugees has sparked a heated debate. "That's risky, he wants to send people to their death," said Linksfraktion leader Sebastian Walter in Potsdam on Tuesday. Stübgen's criticism is a mistake, as there are not enough language courses and the issuance of work permits takes a long time. "The citizen's pension is the only sensible thing we can do to get refugees into work." Walter accused Stübgen of trying to send Ukrainians to war due to "racist sentiments in this country." He demanded Stübgen's resignation.
Stübgen believes the employment rate of Ukrainians is extremely low because the citizen's pension has become a "brake on employment." He told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND/Sunday) that it doesn't make sense to talk about supporting Ukraine as much as possible and, in the same breath, to feed job-seeking Ukrainian women and men asylum seekers. "Independently, the decision to immediately pay citizen's pensions to refugees from Ukraine has proven to be a fundamental error." According to numbers from the Federal Employment Agency, around 12,800 job-capable Ukrainian women and men in Brandenburg received citizen's pensions in May, roughly 4750 of them.
SPD fraction leader Daniel Keller stated that the focus should be on getting Ukrainians into work. "We must acknowledge that we have not yet succeeded in bringing enough Ukrainian women and men into the labor market," Keller said.
The CDU faction dismissed criticism against Stübgen. "Nobody is sending people to their death," said the parliamentary group leader Steeven Bretz. It is legitimate for Stübgen, as chairman of the Interior Ministers Conference, to draw attention to the issue, as the ministers were planning to discuss it during their meeting in Potsdam that week.
The Greens criticized Stübgen's demand as irresponsible. SPD, CDU, and Greens have been governing in Brandenburg together since 2019. A new state parliament will be elected in September.
The Free Voters did not join the Left's demand but expressed criticism. "It's not sustainable in the long run with these payments," said the spokesperson for the BVB/Free Voters group, Péter Vida. There is an opportunity to expand the Federal Voluntary Service. "We propose creating a separate legal framework for Ukrainian refugees to perform community service in return for remuneration."
- Daniel Keller, the SPD fraction leader in Brandenburg, has emphasized the need to get Ukrainians into the workforce, stating that current efforts have fallen short.
- Michael Stübgen, Brandenburg's Interior Minister and a CDU member, has criticized the citizen's pension for Ukrainian refugees, suggesting it hinders employment.
- Sebastian Walter, leader of the Linksfraktion, has accused Stübgen of exhibiting racist sentiments and has called for his resignation.
- Stübgen, in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, stated that the low employment rate of Ukrainians can be attributed to the citizen's pension serving as a barrier to employment.
- The Greens in Brandenburg have labeled Stübgen's demand as irresponsible, joining the SPD in their criticism.
- The Free Voters, while not aligning with the Left's demand for Stübgen's resignation, have expressed concern about the long-term sustainability of the citizen's pension payments.
- Péter Vida, spokesperson for the BVB/Free Voters group, has proposed creating a separate legal framework for Ukrainian refugees to perform community service in exchange for remuneration.
- The CDU faction in Brandenburg has dismissed the criticism against Stübgen, justifying his involvement in the discussion as part of his role as chairman of the Interior Ministers Conference.
