BERLIN – Politicians from Germany’s governing coalition are calling for tougher measures against unemployment benefit fraud, as concerns grow over rising costs.
“Those who exploit the system must be met with clear sanctions,’’ Dirk Wiese, the parliamentary secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said.
Wiese was speaking to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media group in comments released on Monday.
He said that he believed reforms to the basic income support scheme, known as Bürgergeld, were necessary.
Tilman Kuban, a lawmaker for the conservative Christian Democrats, which leads Germany’s coalition with the SPD, also called for better oversight of benefit payments.
“The new basic income can only be for those who really need help not for those who don’t want to work,’’ he added.
In 2024, the state paid out around 46.9 billion euros in basic income support to around 5.5 million recipients.
That was around 4 billion euros more than in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Experts say the increase is linked in part to higher standard rates in 2023 and 2024 to compensate for inflation.
There was no increase this year, and none is expected for 2026.
Wiese stressed that the majority of recipients want to be in employment.
He also said many people are working, but have to supplement their income to make ends meet.
This is a clear sign that a higher minimum wage and better collective bargaining provisions are necessary, Wiese said. (dpa/NAN)
