The leader of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, says that generous welfare payments to migrants in Germany are attracting too many people to the country. In an interview with the news portal t-online, Merz said social benefits in Germany are higher than in other European countries.

"That is exactly what attracts people from many countries," Merz said.

Merz tweeted: "This year more people have come to us than any time since 2015. Municipalities can hardly cope with the burden of immigration. Relative to the rest of Europe, our social welfare network is very substantial. That creates a pull factor."

The 66-year-old said that helping others was imperative for all Christians. But he added: "We shouldn’t provide false incentives."

In the interview with t-online, Merz also claimed that due to high social benefits, "it is often not worthwhile, also for immigrants, to take up a simple [=low-paying, ed. note] job."

Germany's benefits for recognized refugees and asylum seekers are comparatively high within the European Union due to the fact that Germany's overall welfare payments are relatively high, an expert recently told public broadcaster MDR.

Also read: Germany: Two-thirds of Syrian refugees unable to support themselves

Government 'blurring boundaries'

While the government should be making a clear distinction between "regulated labor migration, humanitarian asylum and illegal immigration," Merz claimed it was instead "systematically blurring the boundaries of migration law," even proposing to abolish the proof of identity requirement for asylum seekers.

The Social Democrat-led government has said it wants to make it easier for migrants to prove their identity by allowing them to submit an affidavit. This will enable thousands of people who have no identification papers to gain a legal residence permit and avoid deportation.

In the t-online interview, Merz argued that the rate of returns of rejected asylum seekers from Germany is already very low and accused the goverment of worsening the situation.

Last year, close to 12,000 people were deported from Germany, mostly to Eastern European countries that are not part of the EU, according to the federal agency of political education (bpb). By comparison, roughly 148,000 people filed first-time asylum applications in Germany in 2021, according to the interior ministry.

Indignation over 'social tourism' statement

Merz triggered a storm of indignation last week when he accused Ukrainian refugees of traveling back and forth between Germany and Ukraine to "take advantage" of access to social security benefits – a practice he dubbed "social tourism". He later apologized for any offense caused by his choice of words. 

According to German media reports, the government has had no indication that Ukrainian refugees have abused welfare services.

Journalists from Correctiv, a renowned German research collective, investigated the "social tourism" claims after various reports emerged on messenger WhatsApp. They found no evidence that there was truth to them, deeming the claims "unproven". They spoke not just to government authorities but also the bus company allegedly used by Ukrainians to travel back and forth. The company said there was no increase but a decrease in travel between Berlin and Kyiv recently.

Also read: Is support for Ukrainian refugees waning in Germany?