German asylum benefits cuts violate EU law, top court rules
In a victory for rejected asylum-seekers, the European Court of Justice has ruled they must be given more than just the bare minimum to survive
In a victory for rejected asylum-seekers, the European Court of Justice has ruled they must be given more than just the bare minimum to survive. But as the EU's new migration pact kicks in, will relief be short-lived? What does a human being need to survive with dignity while they await asylum and to be transferred from one European country to another? That was the question before the judges of European Court of justice (ECJ) as they delivered a ruling on whether benefits provided by Germany fell short of the EU's expectations. The ECJ was asked to interpret the rights of an Afghan asylum-seeker, identified as FB, whose asylum application had been rejected by Germany and who was due to be deported to Romania, where he first claimed asylum in 2021. While FB waited to be transferred he was provided food, heated accommodation, and hygiene and healthcare, but received no assistance for clothing and other household items. A law in Germany slashed benefits for rejected asylum-seekers in what activists described as "bed, bread, and soap" subsistence. FB sued the Bavarian district of Schweinfurt after his benefits were cut in 2022, but the case finally ended up at the ECJ. As the far right have expanded electorally and centrist parties have lost ground, Germany has reduced benefits for asylum-seekers [File photo: Sept. 2015] Image: Martin Meissner/AP Photo/picture alliance On Thursday, the court ruled in favor of the rejected asylum-seeker and said that basic necessities such as clothing and household goods may not be withdrawn even if an asylum application is rejected.
Clothing is among the "most basic needs" the court said, and cash benefits for daily necessities such as travel tickets and communication devices ensure a "minimum level of participation in the social and cultural life" of the member state in which a person resides. This allowance contributes "to ensuring the subsistence of the applicant and to protecting the applicant's physical and mental health." Activists welcomed the ruling and expect it to have an EU-wide impact. But a new migration pact makes things unclear. Germany restricted asylum benefits in 2024 FB applied for asylum in Germany in 2021. A year later, his application was deemed "inadmissible." The EU's migration policy is governed by the Dublin Regulation, under which an application for asylum is deemed inadmissible when another participating state has already assumed or been designated responsibility for the claim. This is meant to discourage secondary movement and stop asylum-seekers from flocking to a few nations, and instead distribute them across the bloc. Migration has become a top political issue in Germany over the last decade, used as a major talking point by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to drum up electoral support. In a bid to win back voters, the elected German government has come under pressure to reduce benefits for asylum-seekers. Under an amendment to the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act in 2024, Germany allowed the granting of food, housing and healthcare but reduced the provision of cash. "In practice, that can mean none or very little cash," Wiebke Judith, a policy and advocacy officer for Pro Asyl, a German NGO working for human rights and refugee protection in Europe, told DW.
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