Chancellor’s Chief of Staff Wolfgang Frei expressed strong confidence that the planned Citizens’ Allowance reform will be approved by the cabinet next Wednesday. He highlighted significant progress within the coalition, emphasizing a shared goal to substantially reduce the number of Citizens’ Allowance recipients in Germany to fewer than 5.5 million.

The reform had faced reservations from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior regarding a proposal by Federal Social Minister Bas. The concern was about citizens receiving benefits who do not cooperate with the job center still being entitled to a personal hearing before any benefits are cut. Despite these concerns, the coalition has moved closer to agreement on the reform details, signaling a unified approach moving forward.