Michael Stübgen, the Interior Minister of Brandenburg (CDU), has voiced his criticism of the payment of citizen’s allowance to Ukrainian refugees. In an interview with RND/Sunday, he expressed his belief that supporting Ukrainian refugees financially while also claiming to support Ukraine as best as possible is contradictory. Stübgen argued that the decision to immediately pay citizens’ allowance to refugees from Ukraine has proven to be a mistake, as it has contributed to a very low employment rate among Ukrainians seeking refuge in Germany. He emphasized that the citizen’s allowance has become a barrier preventing many refugees from seeking work opportunities.
Stübgen is not alone in his concerns. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) has been vocal about the issue since May, echoing similar sentiments expressed by Stübgen. Herrmann has emphasized that citizen’s allowance should not be paid to men who are needed for military service in Ukraine, as they play a crucial role in the defense of the country. Both Stübgen and Herrmann plan to address this topic at the upcoming IMK meeting in Potsdam, where they aim to initiate discussions on changing the current approach to providing financial assistance to Ukrainian refugees, in order to ensure that the support provided aligns with the goal of helping Ukraine as a whole.
