The Federal Constitutional Service has warned that new integration rules to link social welfare with integration must apply equally to Austrians and immigrants.
Austria’s Federal Constitutional Service has ruled that a planned “integration phase” linked to social assistance payments cannot be limited to asylum seekers and people with subsidiary protection status, but must also apply to Austrians.
The interpretation has divided the ruling coalition, with the Social Democrats (SPÖ) embracing the view while the center-right People’s Party (ÖVP) and liberal NEOS sharply rejected it.
As reported by Exxpress, the proposal, originally intended only for newcomers, would require all employable people to complete up to three years of German-language and values courses before receiving full social assistance. Until then, they would receive only a reduced “integration allowance.”