CDU welcomes proposals from Labor Minister Bas on social abuse, but calls for improvements
Leading CDU politicians support the action plan against social abuse, but demand tougher action against organized gangs and the exclusion of people in hiding from social benefits.
Quick Look
- Leading CDU politicians have welcomed Labor Minister Bärbel Bas's action plan against social abuse, but are calling for improvements.
- The focus is on organized gangs, junk properties and the exclusion of people wanted by arrest warrant from benefits.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Labor Minister Bärbel Bas has presented an action plan against social abuse, which is to be approved by the cabinet in September.
Berlin. Leading CDU politicians have welcomed Labor Minister Bärbel Bas's proposals to combat social abuse, but are calling for improvements.
It is particularly important that the fight against social abuse does not stop at the benefit recipients themselves, "but rather targets the organized structures behind them: criminal gangs, exploitative employers and landlords who make money with fictitious employment relationships and inhumane junk properties," said the chairman of the CDU employee wing CDA, Dennis Radtke, to the Reuters news agency.
Anyone who turns other people's needs into a business model must feel the full force of the rule of law. Social security fraud is not a trivial offense. Better controls and functioning data exchange are long overdue.
"At the same time, this must not give rise to general suspicion against people who are actually dependent on support. A strong welfare state helps those who need help - and consistently protects itself from those who take advantage of it," warned Radtke.
Union parliamentary group vice-president Günter Krings also welcomed the Bas proposals, but added that one should not only look at where migrants are being exploited, "but also where German or foreign welfare recipients are cheating."
“A comprehensive exchange of data between all relevant authorities is therefore just as long overdue as the exclusion of convicted basic security recipients who avoid going to prison,” demanded the CDU politician to the “Rheinische Post”.
Even before a final conviction, people who are wanted under an arrest warrant and have gone into hiding, as well as those who are obliged to leave the country, should no longer be supported. “Those who hide from the rule of law should not be financed by taxpayers.”
Federal Labor Minister Bas (SPD) presented an action plan for various measures on Wednesday, which is to be decided by the cabinet in September. With the action plan, the government is also targeting so-called junk properties. This involves run-down properties or apartments that, despite their poor condition, are rented out to people receiving social benefits at high rents.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Cabinet approves action plan in September
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- When exactly will the cabinet vote on the action plan?
- Which specific authorities should be involved in data exchange?
