Union politician Krings criticizes Labor Minister Bas because of the outstanding action plan against abuse of social benefits

The deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group, Günter Krings (CDU), has accused Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) of still not having presented the agreed action plan against abuse of social benefits. Krings told the “Rheinische Post” that people wanted by arrest warrant in Germany would still receive basic security. “The rest of the world will probably just shake their heads at us.” After Krings’ criticism, the SPD appeared ready to act quickly.

Krings said he was "horrified" because Bas's labor ministry appears to be in no hurry to abolish this situation. »Ms Bas should present a plan for this in July. None of that happened.” According to the report, there are arrest warrants for more than 100,000 people nationwide. How many of them receive basic security, the previous citizen's benefit, is unknown.

The SPD rejected Krings' criticism. The SPD parliamentary group also wants “the agreed measures to be implemented quickly and in a legally secure manner,” said deputy group leader Dagmar Schmidt to the AFP news agency. "Anyone who evades an arrest warrant or systematically abuses social benefits cannot trust that state authorities are working at cross-purposes."

The regulation should be designed in such a way that the administrative burden on the authorities and, above all, on the public prosecutor's office is kept low and automated data exchange is used. There is already agreement with the Ministry of the Interior on this point. What is needed is a precise constitutional and data protection review as well as clarification of technical feasibility. The regulation, which encroaches on fundamental rights, must be clearly formulated and manageable with the target group in mind.

The Ministry of Labor told the “Rheinische Post” that it was working on the action plan together with the Federal Ministry of the Interior, but that no cabinet appointment could yet be announced. The implementation of the new legislation “is still aimed for by the end of 2026,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Labor.