The government launches a mandatory plan to learn German
Austrian Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) intends to present the first steps of a new integration package at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, which includes mandatory German language courses, skills assessments, and penalties for non-compliance.
According to the minister's office, a ministerial report will be presented announcing the launch of these measures, but full implementation will take longer. This program had previously been announced as part of the government program and targets individuals with international protection and asylum seekers who have a high chance of staying. Among the planned items are: skills testing, values education, and mandatory German language learning.
The program also stipulates the imposition of financial penalties, such as bearing part of the costs of the courses, in case of failing to pass the German language courses.
The debate over social assistance has been renewed following a report published by the "Kronen Zeitung" newspaper, revealing that a refugee family consisting of 11 children in Vienna receives about 9,000 euros monthly, of which 6,000 euros are social assistance and 3,000 euros are family support. According to the Ministry of Integration data for 2024, there are about 266,000 people receiving social assistance in Austria, an increase of 4% from 2023. More than half of these in four federal states are foreigners: in Vienna 67%, Tyrol 62%, Vorarlberg 61%, and Styria 51%.
For its part, the FPÖ party demanded restrictions on these benefits and directed sharp criticism at the government, especially at the ÖVP party, accusing it of opening the doors of the Austrian social system to "illegal immigrants," as he put it. The party's secretary general, Michael Schnedlitz, stated that the government must end this situation, calling for social benefits to be linked to Austrian citizenship, and considered anything else as "ongoing discrimination against native citizens and those committed to work."