“Germany is the main exporter of child benefit to other EU countries” – Union politicians are calling for cuts

In view of the almost 300,000 children who receive German child benefit in other European countries, Union politicians have called for a change to EU law and an adjustment of the amount to the local cost of living. “Germany is the main exporter of child benefit to other EU countries; half a billion euros flow from our social security funds across our borders every year,” said the deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Günter Krings, to the “Bild” newspaper.

"It cannot be the case that child benefit is paid to children who live in Bulgaria or Romania in an amount that is calculated based on the cost of living in Germany. We in Brussels will no longer allow ourselves to be put off on this issue," said Krings.

CSU interior expert Stephan Mayer told "Bild": "I demand: No more German child benefit for children abroad! If this cannot be legally implemented quickly, we must at least adjust the payments to the cost of living in the country of residence. Because life is usually significantly cheaper there."

According to the “Bild” newspaper, German child benefit payments for children living abroad have increased significantly in the past decade. At the end of 2025, such payments were made for 291,292 children, it was said last week, citing figures from the Federal Employment Agency (BA) that were requested by the BSW party. There were 103,559 such cases in 2011, then 158,169 in 2015.

The basis for German child benefit payments for children living abroad are European regulations on social benefits. The decisive factor is the country in which those entitled to child benefit work and therefore generally also pay taxes.