(de-news.net) – Alexander Schweitzer, deputy chairman of the SPD, has raised concerns about the legality of the federal government’s planned implementation of full sanctions under the newly reformed basic income scheme. He emphasized that the Federal Constitutional Court has previously established clear limits on the scope of sanctions, ruling that benefits may not be entirely withdrawn, and he argued that any policy exceeding these limits would conflict with established jurisprudence. Schweitzer maintained that individuals facing financial hardship must be supported and protected, and he stressed that the purpose of the basic income system should be to provide a structured pathway for recipients to regain independent employment and economic self-sufficiency.

The reform agreement reached by the Union and the SPD shortly before Christmas restructures the former Bürgergeld program, which will now be referred to as basic security. The changes, driven primarily by the Union, include provisions under which recipients who fail to attend three job center appointments without justification could face the complete withdrawal of benefits. SPD members have voiced opposition to this provision through an internal petition, arguing that such total sanctions risk undermining the social and constitutional principles that underpin the system. Schweitzer highlighted that punitive measures of this magnitude could be inconsistent with the broader objectives of the welfare state, potentially creating undue hardship for vulnerable individuals rather than supporting reintegration into the labor market.

The Federal Constitutional Court clarified the permissible limits of sanctions in its 2019 decision regarding Hartz IV regulations. The Court affirmed that while the state has the authority to require compliance with certain obligations and may impose penalties for noncompliance, reductions exceeding thirty percent of the standard allowance were deemed disproportionate and therefore unconstitutional. In its reasoning, the Court invoked the protection of the subsistence minimum as guaranteed by human dignity under Article 1 of the Basic Law, in combination with the social state principle enshrined in Article 20. Both principles are safeguarded by the eternity clause (Article 79), ensuring that any measure which would entirely strip citizens of their basic subsistence contradicts the fundamental framework of the German constitution.