Scholz wants more money from EU for Ukrainian refugees in Germany

Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, has stated the EU must allocate more funds for such countries as Germany which accept a large number of Ukrainian refugees.

As reported by Politico, Scholz reported that he had written a joint letter with his Polish and Czech counterparts, Donald Tusk and Petr Fiala, to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in which he provided the details of this demand.

These three countries have accepted the highest amount of Ukrainian refugees, "which is why, together with my colleagues, I believe that it is now time to make a decision … that Europe provides these countries with special financial support to finance social care [for the refugees], vocational training, language courses and all the other things that play a role," Scholz said.

The discussion around Ukrainian refugees in Germany have intensified over the past few months: some politicians from the far-right opposition claim that Berlin must reduce social aid for Ukrainians who still haven’t found a job in Germany.

Specifically, Alexander Dobrindt, the Chairman of the Bavarian opposition Christian Social Union (CSU) party in the German Bundestag, has called for the expulsion of unemployed Ukrainian refugees from Germany. His proposition was criticised by the parties of the federal coalition and Oleksii Makeiev, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany.

The official reports say that out of over a million Ukrainians in Germany 800,000 are of working age, and about a quarter of them are employed.