Bavaria Wants Welfare Cuts for Foreigners

The federal German state of Bavaria wants to cut social welfare benefits for foreigners who are facing deportation in Germany. Bavarian Social Minister Christa Stewens of the opposition Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of the Christian Social Democratic Union (CDU), said on Tuesday in Munich that foreigners on the dole will also have to do mandatory non-profit work in the future. Stewens added that the EU's eastward expansion and loosening of borders had sharply raised the dangers of misusing Germany's generous welfare system, adding that foreigners receive welfare benefits in Germany today even if they are illegally in the country. Stewens wants to push through legislation which will need foreigners to prove they didn't enter the country only to apply for social benefits. "It opens the door to abuse when a foreigner makes his social benefit claims immediately after his arrival," Stewens said. "That has nothing to do with the principle of solidarity and must be scrapped."