Government accepts reform of minimum income

The minimum income is being reformed.© APAweb / Barbara Gindl
The minimum income is being reformed.© APAweb / Barbara Gindl

Vienna. The turquoise-blue federal government has agreed on the latest details of the reform of the minimum income guarantee. The national uniform model will be presented Wednesday by the Council of Ministers and then by the government. According to reports, the new minimum income is based on the resolutions of the government review in Mauerbach.

For example, discounts are provided for immigrants with insufficient knowledge of German as well as a bonus for single parents. In addition, the new Basic Law should provide for stricter rules for people who do not wish to work. The amount of the minimum income should in the future be based on the current minimum pension of 863 euros. In case of poor knowledge of German or English or in the absence of a compulsory diploma, this amount should be reduced from EUR 300 to EUR 563.

Question of access to badets as a stumbling block

The end was not clear as to whether and how families with multiple children can limit or "cap" cash benefits per household. In addition, the issue of access to badets as a blocking point between the ÖVP and the FPÖ has been widely publicized. For details, the coalition parties did not announce Tuesday the details of the agreement, which will be presented at the government meeting on Wednesday.

Critics of the government's plans are concerned that the planned cuts will lead to poverty, especially for children. The federal government has also denounced the fact that the reform project targets immigrants from immigration.

The experts also expressed constitutional and European concerns. For example, the system of protection of the minimum income of Lower Austria has been abrogated by the Constitutional Court because of the ceiling for this purpose, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities has reversed the model of Upper Austria because the reduction of temporary asylum seekers. The government has therefore expressed its willingness, with the badistance of constitutional experts, to find a valid solution both before the Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Communities.