Green annoyed: – Fewer social benefits do not attract nurses

In his “Speech on the Future of the Nation” on Friday, Nehammer committed to the goal of reorganizing social benefits so that only those who have lived in Austria for five consecutive years can receive the full benefit, “and if not , then only half”.

Rauch: “Attractive preconditions needed”
“Restricting the receipt of social benefits for immigrants in the first five years will not lead to attracting 10,000 nursing staff from abroad to Austria, as Chancellor Karl Nehammer stated as a goal in his speech,” Rauch said in a sardonic response. in the “default”.

There is a great need for workers in many sectors, “therefore attractive conditions are needed for people who want to come to Austria and work here,” he continued.

Ideas of the ÖVP “legally hardly feasible”
“As far as is known, the ideas of the ÖVP are hardly legally enforceable, since most of the benefits are insurance benefits,” the “ZIB 2” quoted as a statement from the Green Parliamentary Club on Sunday. “There is nothing about this in the government program either, so implementation is not up for discussion. We assume that such claims are not tenable for the highest courts in Austria or those of the EU.”

“We also remind you of the indexation of child benefits, which has been abolished by the ECJ.” Social security is non-negotiable for the Greens, the statement continues.

Reduction probably only possible for some groups
European legal expert Franz Leidenmühler of Johannes Kepler University in Linz said Monday in the Ö1 “Mittagsjournal” that only a few groups would qualify for a discount under EU law. For example, people from third countries who are not in the asylum procedure and who are not related to EU citizens.

For those entitled to subsidiary protection, there is only minimal support in areas such as income, illness or housing – here “equal treatment with nationals must take place”. Third-country nationals working in Austria would also be entitled to social benefits.

Violation of human rights treaty?
To date, it is unclear which services should be phased out. According to constitutional law expert Heinz Mayer, unemployment benefit is an insurance benefit that cannot be reduced if the stay is too short. Wolfgang Mazal, an expert in the field of social law, considers the planned cuts to be a violation of the human rights treaty.

This prohibits differentiation by citizenship for services that replace real estate, he told Ö1. According to him, minimum income benefits also fall under the scheme.

NEOS: “No serious politics”
NEOS boss Beate Meinl-Reisinger saw no “serious politics” in Nehammer’s attempt to scrap social assistance for immigrants, because so far it is not at all clear what he means by that. The ÖVP must present its ideas clearly, then they can be examined – also legally – Meinl-Reisinger said at a press conference. She recalled that in this area almost everything from the turquoise blue era had been destroyed by the Constitutional Court and at the European level. In any case, the NEOS would oppose anything that further fuels the country’s labor shortage.

Not the only point of criticism
The new scheme for social benefits was not the only initiative by the Chancellor that met with incomprehension from the Greens. Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) has already spoken out against “sticking to the internal combustion engine”. In his speech, the chancellor stated that banning meat consumption and cars is not an answer to the climate crisis.

Green Club president Sigrid Maurer criticized the ÖVP’s “backward-looking and fossil perspective”. “Even if you close your eyes very tightly, the climate crisis will not go away,” she said in the “Mittagsjournal”. The future lies in electromobility.