A large majority of Germans back plans by the incoming coalition government to cut payments to newly arriving Ukrainian refugees, according to a YouGov opinion poll commissioned by dpa and published on Thursday.
The survey found 77% in favour of ceasing to pay the standard social security benefit normally paid to German citizens in need of assistance to Ukrainian refugees as well. The Ukrainians should instead receive the lower payments for asylum seekers.
Of the 2,275 eligible voters polled, 11% opposed this decision taken by the new coalition comprising the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left SPD, while 12% declined to respond.
The coalition government, which is set to be sworn in when parliament meets on Tuesday, has agreed that Ukrainian refugees entering Germany after April 1 should receive only the standard asylum-seeker’s allowance, to the extent that they are in need.
A special European Union directive passed in 2022 provides for Ukrainian refugees to gain right of residence without applying for asylum.
Germany currently hosts more than 1.25 million Ukrainian refugees, more than 60% of them female.
Source: dpa.com
