While the German government welcomes unschooled migrants from the Middle East and Africa, it wants to stop citizens of other EU countries, particularly from eastern Europe, coming to Germany.
Government sources told DPA that the Cabinet will be taking the legal route to discourage Europeans who come “just for benefits” as a law is being proposed to prevent EU citizens from countries outside Germany from claiming welfare benefits during their first five years in the country.
“We are aiming for a swift approval by the cabinet,” said a Labour Ministry spokeswoman. The law will be debated in the Bundestag if approved.
“Cities have been waiting for this law and now the German parliament should quickly pass it,” the deputy head of the Association of German Cities, Helmut Dedy, told the Mitteldeutschen Zeitung.
“The new rules are necessary to avoid the significant financial strains on cities that come with extra social benefits.”
Local governments are responsible for paying social welfare.
It would mean no welfare payments unless EU citizens are currently registered as employees. Only after five years without any government support would EU citizens have an automatic right to claim Hartz IV.
Hartz IV, the most basic form of unemployment benefit that exists in Germany, was introduced in 2003 and is rewarded regardless of job status.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, some 440,000 people from other EU states receive social benefits. Polish citizens made up the largest group of recipients at 92,000, followed by Italians (71,000), Romanians (57,000), and Greeks (46,000).
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