The German parliament voted to limit the use of cash by asylum seekers and migrants, MTI reported.
Lawmakers who support the legislation say the new system could help prevent migrants from using benefits they receive from the German state to pay people smugglers or send them home to their families.
“The card can be used to purchase goods and services purchased on a daily basis, buy food in shopping malls, pay for a haircut at a hairdresser or buy a ticket when travelling,” Interior Minister Nancy Viser said.
They can only be used to withdraw cash to a very limited extent, and cannot be used for international transfers.
The card is scheduled to be launched in all 16 German federal states on November 6, and the authorities can determine the upper limit for cash withdrawal on a case-by-case basis. The law also contains a data protection amendment, allowing data to be exchanged between the Immigration Office and social welfare agencies.
The German Police Federation (GdP), the largest representation of employees in law enforcement agencies, described the decision as restrictive and objected that representatives wanted to limit cash withdrawals to a low level.
According to Jochen Kubelke, head of the GDPR party, many immigrants who came to Germany are under serious financial pressure because their families remain in their homeland or because of human traffickers. According to him, “there is a possibility that those who do not receive cash for social assistance will choose crime.” “As an alternative solution.”
The conservative union party group, CDU-CSU, did not vote in favor of the legislation, among other reasons, because it considers a cash withdrawal limit of no more than 50 euros per month acceptable.
Migration Charter
The European Parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of the new European Union migration and asylum agreement. The focus of a long-standing debate has been the screening of migrants at the border. This point of the Convention will serve the purpose of being able to determine who is a true refugee among applicants when migrants reach the external borders of the Union.
The Charter affects all stages of asylum and migration administration, from the screening of irregular migrants upon their arrival in the EU, the collection of biometric data, the procedures for submitting and processing asylum applications, and determining which Member State is responsible for asylum screening. Applications, stipulates cooperation and solidarity between member states and how to deal with crisis situations, including the “use” of illegal immigrants as tools.
This Immigration and Asylum Act ensures an effective European response to this challenge. Thanks to this, it is not smugglers, but Europeans who decide who can enter the territory of the European Union and who can stay here. This means protecting those in need
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said:
On Friday, the European Council also approved amendments to legislation on work and residence permits issued to citizens outside the European Union. The aim of the relevant legislation is to attract skilled and talented workers, who are indispensable to the European Union, and to address shortcomings related to legal immigration to the Union.
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