"Against abuse"

ÖVP wants to present model for payment card by June

Interior Minister Karner (left) and ÖVP Secretary General Stocker(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

The ÖVP wants to present a proposal for its idea of a payment card for asylum seekers - similar to the one currently being implemented in Germany - by the end of June. The aim is clear: to make illegal migration less attractive.

Karner identified a high number of people entering Austria illegally who "have practically no chance of obtaining asylum". After all, four out of five asylum applications were rejected last year. The People's Party wants to counteract this with the card, which is intended to further promote the switch from cash benefits to benefits in kind for asylum seekers. Karner referred to the initial reception center in Traiskirchen, where the principle of benefits in kind instead of cash benefits is "essentially 100 percent implemented". There, asylum seekers receive pocket money of 40 euros per month as their only cash benefit.

Red-led states are skeptical
This is now to be implemented throughout Austria via a cheaper, practicable system in order to prevent "abuse". According to the ÖVP's argument, if asylum seekers in private accommodation receive cash, some of them would transfer it to smugglers or to their home country. There are currently different regulations in the federal states. The red-led federal states had previously expressed skepticism about the introduction of a payment card. "I have not heard complete rejection anywhere," said Karner optimistically.

Interior Minister Karner (left) and ÖVP Secretary General Stocker(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Asylum seekers left Germany because of the card system
In Germany, the changeover to a card system is currently underway. Some asylum seekers have already left those districts in Thuringia where such a card has already been introduced, Stocker believes. What exactly an Austrian card model could look like and whether pocket money should also be transferred to it has not yet been decided, said Karner. He wants to discuss the possible design with the Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) in Vienna on Tuesday.

Nothing should change for Ukrainians
However, this should not apply to Ukrainians who are also receiving basic welfare support in Austria. The EU's displaced persons directive has been extended until March 2025 - "until then, it makes little sense to introduce a different system here", Karner said when asked by APA.

Stocker also insists on measures at European level to curb illegal migration - such as robust protection of the EU's external border, an extension of readmission agreements and a reconsideration of development cooperation with countries that do not take back rejected asylum seekers. In Austria, the ÖVP is aiming to change the value limits for cash withdrawals from refugees.

There appears to be support for a payment card among the population, with 66% of people in favor of the model in a "Unique Research" survey for "Heute" (500 respondents, fluctuation range 4.4%). It is most popular among FPÖ (84 percent approval) and ÖVP supporters (81 percent approval). 54 percent of SPÖ voters are also in favor of the payment card. In contrast, 23 percent of respondents reject the model.