Scholz Under Pressure: Fewer Than 2 Out of 10 Ukrainian Refugees in Germany Are Working
New data revealing that barely any Ukrainian refugees are actually working in Germany has the left-liberal government struggling to explain the failure, despite promises from the government that this refugee group would help fill in for the country’s declining labor pool.
“More Ukrainian refugees should take up work in Germany,” said Olaf Scholz during a speech in Potsdam over the weekend. The German chancellor was reacting to data showing that fewer than two out of ten Ukrainian asylum seekers are working in the country.
This is a big problem for Germany considering it is the country that has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other EU nation, equaling about 1.3 million people, or about a third of all Ukrainian refugees. According to the Polish Economic Institute, which reviewed a number of countries in its study, only 18 percent of Ukrainians were working in Germany as of January 2024, amounting to one of the lowest rates in Europe. In turn, Poland, for example, has 65 percent of its Ukrainian refugee population in the workplace.
Scholz said himself during his speech in Potsdam that Germany needs these Ukrainians to overcome a labor shortage — one that many other migrant groups continue to not fill either. For example, employment numbers for Africans and Asians remain abysmal, even with many of these groups having been in Germany for years.
Scholz said that despite some Ukrainians working, there are “a few hundred thousand more who are urgently needed in the labor market.” The German leader is attempting to link permanent residence permits with labor participation in order to encourage more Ukrainians into the workplace, according to Focus.
There are a number of theories as to why Ukrainians are having such a difficult time integrating into the German job market. For one, Germany’s generous social benefits for the unemployed continue to discourage a range of groups from entering the workforce, as it is often more profitable to remain unemployed. Some of these groups also collect unemployment money and work on the black market, which allows them to exploit the German taxpayer while earning additional disposable income. However, it is unclear how many Ukrainians might partake in this practice.
According to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, one of the primary obstacles for Ukrainians is meeting recognition of qualifications, along with bureaucratic hurdles. Although some Ukrainians have mastered German, many still struggle with the language, which is a major hurdle for some employers, especially for more highly-skilled positions.
Like many other groups that come to Germany for “temporary refuge,” many Ukrainians want to stay permanently. After all, Germany — despite growing problems in society and the economy — continues to offer a higher standard of living than most other nations in the world, with generous social benefits a key element of this appeal.
Nearly half of Ukrainians tell pollsters they want to stay in the country, which is placing pressure on Scholz to quickly absorb them into the labor market — otherwise, they will serve only as a financial drain.
“In Germany, anyone who works here and does not commit any crime can almost certainly stay here,” said Scholz.
At the same time, Ukraine is seeking new ways to force men back into the country to serve on the frontline, with some countries, such as Poland, seemingly complying. It is unclear whether Germany will take similar steps at some point, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may apply renewed pressure on EU nations if the situation continues to deteriorate over the summer. Ukrainian men in Germany, however, appear to be in no rush to return to their home country and face potential death or injury in the raging battles in the east.
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German Court Rules State Can Spy on “Extremist” AfD
A court in Germany ruled on Monday, May 13th that the anti-globalist, anti-immigration party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) can be designated as a “suspected extremist organisation.” This means that the domestic intelligence agency, Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), has the right to spy on the party, using such intelligence tools as phone tapping, intercepting emails, or recruiting informants from inside the party.
In its verdict, the court said “there is sufficient evidence that the AfD pursues goals that run against the human dignity of certain groups and against democracy.” The judges added: “There are grounds to suspect at least part of the party wants to accord second-rank status to German citizens with a migration background.” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser welcomed the ruling as showing that the “state has instruments that protect our democracy from threats from within.”
After the ruling, Saxony’s justice minister Katja Meier (Greens) called for a task force to collect intelligence in preparation for a potential AfD ban. She said the court decision “strengthens our robust democracy; now the chances of success of a ban procedure must be examined in concrete terms.”
AfD in Saxony responded on X by saying “the enemies of democracy sit in the government”:
With her call for a ban, Justice Minister Katja Meier is showing that she rejects democratic competition for the best ideas. Instead of solving the problems in our country, the government wants to punish those who point out these problems. This is deeply undemocratic.
Ultimately, I am grateful to Ms Meier for her frank words. They prove that the#Verfassungsschutz is being abused politically and has long since mutated into the#Regierungsschutz. Instead of a functioning, fair constitutional state, Ms Meier wants a Stasi 2.0.
#AfDVerbot? Das will die sächsische Justizministerin Katja Meier von den #Gruenen.@Joerg_UrbanAfD erwidert darauf:
— AfD-Fraktion Sachsen (@AfD_SLT) May 13, 2024
„Mit ihrer Verbotsforderung zeigt Justizministerin Katja Meier, dass sie den demokratischen Wettbewerb um die besten Ideen ablehnt. Statt die Probleme in unserem… pic.twitter.com/IcHweFmXUd
The BfV initially labelled the AfD as a “suspected right-wing extremist group” three years ago. The AfD challenged this designation first in a lower court which upheld the intelligence agency’s decision, and then in the upper court in Münster, which rejected AfD’s appeal on Monday. The party will likely appeal this decision as well at a federal level.
The verdict was no surprise given that the political elite in Germany has for years been attempting to undermine the party, whose popularity has been steadily rising. The AfD is currently the second highest polling party in Germany with around 18-19% support, and is the most favoured party among voters in their 20s. It will likely become the largest force in three Eastern states—Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia—which are holding state elections this autumn.
Critics say that the country’s institutions are being weaponised to persecute a political opponent supported by many millions of German voters who are disillusioned with the ruling elite.
According to conservative publication Tichys Einblick, the court ruling will not immediately affect the AfD, but could have a devastating effect on the future of the party. The AfD will now be portrayed as a danger to democracy—even more so than before, the newspaper writes.
It will probably be much more difficult for the party to open up to new supporter groups. Civil servants and other employees in the public sector will think twice about making their sympathy for the party known. Nancy Faeser will continue to try to criminalise money transfers to the AfD and its affiliations—i.e. to everything that is somehow “right-wing”, i.e., does not belong to the ruling green-left class. All this clearly serves the goal of making it more difficult for the party to access resources—both human and financial.
“If you want to know how to really ruin a democracy, you only have to look at Berlin these days,” Tichys Einblick summarises.
The stigmatising of the party will likely continue, with the BfV aiming to classify the AfD as “proven right-wing extremist,” a label already officially used for the youth wing of the party, Junge Alternative, as well as three regional branches of the party in Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt. This classification would allow for even more increased surveillance of the group and its members’ activities. According to conservative publication Apollo News, the next step would be banning the party, something several politicians of mainstream parties have already called for long before today’s court ruling.
Some of the arguments made for branding the AfD as “extremist” have since been refuted, as was a hit piece by the government-funded leftist-liberal media outlet Correctiv which falsely accused the party of planning to “deport millions of Germans with a migrant background.” Mainstream parties have also been agitating against the AfD and organising protests against “right-wing violence” after a Social Democrat politician was physically assaulted while campaigning on the street. However, to date, AfD politicians have endured the most physical violence. On Sunday night, unknown perpetrators threw stones at the house of an AfD city councillor in Halle, breaking several windows, and tried to set fire to the building.
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Ukraine Facing ‘a Nightmare’
The new Russian offensive in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkov puts President Vladimir Zelensky in a tough spot of having to make sacrifices in order for his soldiers to hold the line, CNN wrote in an analysis.
The Russian Army has captured nine villages since it launched an offensive on Friday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Ukraine’s General Staff reported that the Russians have had “tactical success,” and said there was heavy fighting for control of the border town of Volchansk.
CNN’s chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, offered a grimmer assessment of the situation on the battlefield on Monday, describing the progress made by the Russian troops as “arguably their fastest advance since the first days of the war.”
“This is a nightmare for Kyiv for two reasons: firstly, they liberated this land from Russian forces 18 months ago, yet failed, clearly, to fortify the area enough to prevent Moscow sweeping back with the ease with which they were swept out,” Paton Walsh wrote in an analysis.
“And secondly, Russia can again tie up Ukraine’s overstretched army with constant and grinding pressure on Kharkiv, exacting a toll with crude shelling on a vast urban center,” he argued. Paton Walsh added that Zelensky faces “ugly choices about where to send limited resources, and where ultimately to sacrifice.”
Read more Ukraine failed to create defensive lines in Kharkov Region – BBC
Western analysts have said that the opening of a new front is particularly dangerous for Kiev, given the persistent shortages of ammunition and the delays in Western aid deliveries. The New York Times reported on Sunday that successful advances on Kharkov, Ukraine’s second-largest city and an important industrial center, “could demoralize Ukrainians and [their] allies,” and even compel the West to pressure Kiev to negotiate a truce with Moscow.
Ukraine was forced to retreat from several cities and villages in Donbass this year, including the heavily fortified city of Avdeevka, which was the scene of fierce battles for many months.
Zelensky partly blamed Washington for the recent losses, saying last month that his country is “a hostage” of the upcoming US presidential election and political wrangling in Congress, where Republicans spent months blocking a $61 billion aid package. President Joe Biden finally signed the aid bill into law on April 24.
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