The planned shift of Ukrainian refugees from German citizen’s income (Bürgergeld) to asylum seeker benefits is facing significant pushback from regional leaders ahead of this week’s Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz. Rhineland-Palatinate’s Minister President Alexander Schweitzer (SPD), who also chairs the conference, has publicly questioned the federal government’s cost estimations for the proposed legislative change, highlighting potential financial burdens for states and municipalities.
Schweitzer expressed serious reservations about the federal government’s calculations regarding the proposed flat-rate payments. He stressed the need for adequate federal compensation to prevent further strain on local budgets. His comments underscored a growing frustration amongst regional leaders about decisions imposed by the federal government without sufficient consideration for their financial impact. He reiterated the principle of “who orders, pays” arguing that the burden of supporting refugees should lie with the entity initiating the policy.
This sentiment is echoed by the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff (CDU), who also insists on full cost coverage from the federal government. Haseloff pointed to the existing stipulations within the coalition agreement, which mandates that the increased costs for states resulting from transferring Ukrainians to the asylum seeker benefits framework should be assumed by the federal government. This issue is expected to be a key discussion point during Thursday’s conference.
The federal government’s draft law, recently approved by the cabinet, proposes the transfer of Ukrainians who arrived in Germany after April 2025 from receiving Bürgergeld, funded from the federal budget, to the comparatively lower level of asylum seeker benefits, which are primarily financed by states and municipalities. This legislative maneuver, ostensibly aimed at budgetary realignment, has exposed a deeper fault line between the federal government and regional authorities, raising questions about the sustainability of current refugee support structures and the equitable distribution of financial responsibility. The debate signals a potential power struggle and highlights the growing strains on Germany’s decentralized system of governance as it manages the ongoing humanitarian and economic consequences of the conflict in Ukraine.
