An important law from the black-red coalition is still a long time coming: According to information from FOCUS online, the end of citizens’ benefits for Ukrainians will no longer be decided before Easter. Several politicians from the CDU/CSU and SPD point to still unresolved points of contention, but at the same time are putting pressure on them.

The CDU and CSU must therefore continue to wait for a central promise to be fulfilled. Before the last federal election, they announced that Ukrainians who had fled to Germany would receive the lower payments under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act instead of citizen’s benefit.

Citizens’ benefits for Ukrainians are scheduled to end on July 1st

Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) initially opposed the so-called change of legal jurisdiction, but the law ultimately went to the cabinet and was introduced into the Bundestag in January. Since then, the bill has sat in committees and there has been no apparent progress.

In the meantime, politicians familiar with the issue had assumed that the project would be completed in March. If that no longer seems to be possible, there isn’t much time left. The plan is for the law to come into force on July 1st after it has been passed by the Federal Council.

States want more money from the federal government for the law

The reason for the current delay is that there are still doubts from various quarters. In the SPD, but also in parts of the Union Some warn that the law could even have a counterproductive effect: instead of encouraging Ukrainians to work with lower social benefits, integration into the labor market would be delayed because the change would also eliminate support from job centers.

In addition, most federal states are skeptical. Unlike citizen’s benefit, asylum seeker benefits for Ukrainians would have to be borne by municipalities and states. Because this is expensive, they demand compensation payments from the federal government. The Federal Council has this position, among others in a very critical statement held.

Another controversial question is whether the change in legal jurisdiction should apply retroactively as planned by the coalition. The bill introduced in the Bundestag stipulates that all Ukrainians who entered the country from April 2025 should be excluded from the citizen’s allowance. However, this regulation would be clear more bureaucratic effort as if, for example, you set a deadline in the future.

The Bas Ministry is open, Bavaria is putting pressure on it

In order to resolve the points of contention, there are currently “discussions between the federal government and the states, which are taking place parallel to the legislative process,” as the Ministry of Labor announced online at the request of FOCUS. At least the SPD-led Ministry of Labor is open to possible changes: “The proposals from the states are also being examined within this framework,” emphasizes a spokeswoman. It is unclear whether this is also the line of the Union side.

There is currently reluctance on the state side when it comes to public statements. Possibly so as not to endanger negotiations with the federal government. When asked by FOCUS online to various state ministries, only the Bavarian Minister of Social Affairs Ulrike Scharf commented: “The change in legal circles must be reversed.” The CSU politician warns: “The coalition agreement must now be implemented quickly and all outstanding financing issues must be clarified.” The federal government must not leave the states and municipalities “out in the cold here”.

Nobody yet believes that the law will fail

That in the end it could fail completely to give the Ukrainians their citizen’s money or rather the new basic security However, it is unlikely that it will be deleted. Politicians familiar with the issue still assume that a solution can be found.

At least in theory it could even happen very quickly. The Bundestag will meet again next week. If he passes the law, the Federal Council, which meets on Friday, could clear the way.