The German Federal Labor Minister, Bärbel Bas (SPD), has strongly rebuked CSU leader Markus Söder for his recent proposal to withhold basic income support (“Bürgergeld”) for Ukrainian refugees.
Speaking to the television channel “Welt” Minister Bas noted that Söder’s suggestion had already faced internal criticism within the conservative Union bloc and urged all parties to focus on the existing coalition agreement. “I can only advise everyone to concentrate on the coalition agreement; otherwise, we will encounter very different problems within this coalition” she stated.
Bas emphasized that the agreed-upon policy within the coalition stipulated the cessation of basic income support solely for newly arriving Ukrainian refugees. Any deviation from this, she argued, would impose undue financial burdens on local municipalities. “Everything beyond that, I do not consider right at the moment, because ultimately it burdens the municipalities. We have also firmly agreed in the coalition agreement that we will not redirect any further benefits to the municipalities. And Mr. Söder should also take note of that.
Minister Bas cautioned against introducing “new points of contention” asserting that such actions are unnecessary. “We have firmly committed to working together on this and all further proposals are simply meaningless”.