Western Pomerania-Rügen - Support: District council vote in favor of cash card for asylum seekers
Following the vote by the Vorpommern-Rügen district council in favor of cash cards for asylum seekers, the CDU also wants to work towards their introduction in the Schwerin state parliament. "We will take the initiative from Vorpommern-Rügen in the January state parliament as an opportunity to demand a uniform state-wide payment system," announced CDU parliamentary group leader Franz-Robert Liskow on Tuesday. He accused the federal and state governments of only approaching the issue with pointed fingers.
On Monday evening, the Vorpommern-Rügen district council voted in favor of introducing a cash card for asylum seekers. According to the corresponding motion, this should reduce the incentive to come to Germany in the first place. It is also intended to prevent asylum seekers from sending money intended for living expenses back home.
The motion stated: "The district administrator is instructed to take all possible measures to introduce a payment card or similar system as quickly as possible in order to replace cash payments to asylum seekers as far as possible."
The state premiers and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz had agreed that asylum seekers in Germany should receive at least part of their benefits as credit on a payment card in future. A working group is to draw up proposals for uniform minimum standards across Germany by the end of January. Some members of the district council called for faster implementation, but also warned against rushing ahead.
In Hanover, refugees without a German bank account will in future receive a debit card to pay without cash. Payment cards for refugees are also being tested in two Thuringian districts and the model is to be introduced throughout Thuringia.
Before the district council meeting, district administrator Stefan Kerth had said that the district's own system would probably mean unnecessary expense if the federal government were to set the legal framework shortly afterwards. "And then our system wouldn't fit in." In principle, however, he thinks the project is a good one.
Liskow assumes that it will clearly have a dampening effect on migration. "In the medium term, however, only a switch to a quota system will help, i.e. changing the individual right to asylum to a quota solution," he was quoted as saying. He also believes that the proposal to clarify the right to asylum outside of Germany makes sense.
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- The CDU, aiming to follow the Vorpommern-Rügen district council's lead, plans to advocate for cash cards for asylum seekers in the Schwerin state parliament.
- Asylum seekers in Hanover will now receive a debit card for payments, following a similar initiative in two Thuringian districts and a planned implementation across Thuringia.
- Following an agreement between state premiers and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, asylum seekers in Germany will receive part of their benefits on a payment card in the future.
- Critics within the district council called for a faster implementation of payment cards for asylum seekers, but also cautioned against rushing the process.
- The motion passed by the Vorpommern-Rügen district council instructs the district administrator to introduce a payment card system for asylum seekers as soon as possible.
- In Stralsund, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, some asylum seekers may benefit from the new cash card initiative, joining the growing number of refugees in Germany who receive benefits via electronic payment cards.
Source: www.stern.de
