A WDR-commissioned Infratest-dimap poll released on April 27 reveals that two-thirds of German voters support limiting certain welfare payments to foreigners who have accrued substantial employment periods in Germany. The sentiment aligns with a January recommendation from the federal government’s Social-State Reform Commission, which urged Berlin to press for EU-level rules linking benefit eligibility to prior labour-market participation. Support is strongest among AfD (91 %) and CDU/CSU (79 %) sympathisers but still garners 63 % approval among SPD voters. Green and Left-party supporters oppose the idea by majorities of 64 % and 55 % respectively, highlighting a widening partisan divide over the integration model. For global-mobility and HR teams the findings are a leading indicator: policymakers may feel emboldened to tighten access to unemployment or child-benefit schemes for recently arrived intra-EU transferees. Should Germany succeed in persuading Brussels to revisit the 2004 Free-Movement Directive, employers might need to reassess the total-reward packages offered to EU assignees during their first years in-country. The poll also notes that 63 % of respondents reject calls for Germans to work longer hours to shore up the welfare system, suggesting that politicians will search for savings on the expenditure side rather than revenue increases. Companies should therefore watch the next coalition working-group meeting on social-security reform scheduled for mid-May, where draft legislation could emerge.
Source: evangelisch.de / epd
