(de-news.net) – Through increased data sharing, new enforcement powers, and legislative changes, Germany is stepping up its response to welfare-benefit abuse. While local government organizations applaud the measures, homelessness advocates caution that they may also have an impact on individuals in already precarious situations.
The German government has expanded its 10-point plan to prevent welfare-benefit abuse, placing particular emphasis on new statutory provisions, more extensive interagency data sharing and tighter administrative controls. State Secretary Leonie Gebers (SPD) and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) presented the measures Wednesday, as the Cabinet also initiated the legislative process required to implement them.
Dobrindt said the legislation was intended to close existing loopholes in the welfare system in a direct manner and strengthen the state’s response to fraudulent practices. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD), on her part, additionally emphasized that Germany needs foreign workers but that EU freedom of movement must not be misused as a means of facilitating the exploitation of workers.
Germany expands prevention and reporting measures
A major component of the initiative is the expansion of automated exchanges of information between public authorities. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, job centers have been automatically notified for about two months when the immigration status of a person receiving benefits changes. If, for example, an individual loses the right to freedom of movement within the EU, a so-called push notification allows the responsible job center to determine whether the person’s benefits need to be modified or discontinued.
Previously, authorities sometimes had to obtain the relevant information themselves, making the process more dependent on individual administrative inquiries. The government now intends to give automated data exchanges a more central role. Authorities will also receive automated information about outstanding arrest warrants, while municipalities and job centers are to be given additional powers to respond to suspected abuse.
The plan is aimed particularly at organized welfare-benefit abuse associated with migration from other EU member states. Among the proposed measures, employers could be held responsible for benefits that were paid improperly, while the use of abandoned or substandard properties as part of welfare fraud schemes is to be curtailed. Proposed amendments to Social Code Books II and XII would also exclude people subject to arrest warrants for evading imprisonment after a final conviction from receiving basic income support. Authorities would receive automatic notification when such an arrest warrant is issued, extending the broader effort to connect information that is currently handled across separate administrative systems.
Local officials welcome measures as homelessness group warns of broader impact
The government also intends to strengthen information and advisory services in migrants’ countries of origin. The stated purpose is to help protect people from false promises before they travel to Germany or enter employment arrangements. In a related measure, job centers have been required since July to notify customs authorities when they suspect undeclared employment or violations of minimum-wage rules. The measures therefore combine changes to administrative data flows with additional controls intended to identify possible abuse at an earlier stage.
The German Association of Counties welcomed the plan, arguing that welfare-benefit abuse does more than affect the individuals directly involved. In its assessment, such abuse can also increase the administrative and financial burdens on municipalities and weaken public confidence in the welfare state. At the same time, the association stressed that the effectiveness of the measures would depend on whether the new rules could be implemented in a practical manner by local authorities.
The Federal Association for Assistance to the Homeless took a contrasting position. It warned that the proposed measures could affect people who have lived, worked or sought employment in Germany for years and who are already in precarious circumstances. The organization criticized the measures as insufficiently focused on organized welfare abuse, arguing that their effects could extend beyond the cases the government says it intends to target.
