Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has announced that a government action plan to combat abuse of social welfare benefits will be presented later this month. Speaking on Saturday at the CDU's regional party conference in North Rhine-Westphalia in Dusseldorf, Merz said the issue mattered greatly to municipal politicians across the country. "We're doing this now, we're tackling it, we are implementing our promises," the Chancellor announced.
In mid-June, a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs had already announced a new competence centre within the Federal Employment Agency to tackle abuse of social benefits. That is also a stated goal of the new basic income scheme, which replaced the former Bürgergeld (citizen's income) on Wednesday. Around 5.5 million benefit recipients now face tightened cooperation obligations and harsher sanctions.
Merz said in Dusseldorf that he was convinced the majority of the population did not reject "reforms per se." People were "ready to go along with such reforms" and knew "that this also takes time" before the effects become visible. However, he continued, "things must be fair, and everyone must make their contribution."
The leaders of the black-red federal government had agreed on an extensive reform package during the coalition committee meeting on Wednesday evening. A central element is the promised reform of income tax - according to the resolution paper, a tax relief of 600 euros per year is planned for average earners.
"We would of course have liked more, but reasonably stable and solid state finances are also an important message - especially for families with children, who want this state to remain affordable," Merz said.
Regarding the reduction of bureaucracy, the Chancellor said Germany was "on the way back to the principle of trust." Trust in people was "the core of our policy": "That's why we are abolishing bureaucracy." Citizens should be given back personal responsibility. "We want to move from legislation of mistrust by the state to legislation of trust by the state," Merz continued. This principle guided all decisions being made in these days and weeks.
Following a decision on sick leave certificates, the Verdi union, among others, had previously accused the black-red coalition of showing mistrust toward employees. According to the agreement, telephone sick notes are to be abolished, and from the first day of illness, presenting a certificate of incapacity to work will be a legal requirement. Companies, however, will be able to deviate from this rule.
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