Austria's social system under pressure: large families from Transcarpaties come!

Austria's social system under pressure: large families from Transcarpaties come!

Austria faces a serious challenge: an unexpected increase in large families from Transcarpaties, a region in western Ukraine, has given the authorities on alert. These families arrive with new passports, although Transcarpaties are not considered a war zone. It is questionable that many of these newcomers speak Ukrainian nor Russian and are often illiterate. Anton Holzer, asylum coordinator in Salzburg, expresses concerns about potential cases of social fraud. The influx has already led to the fact that around 90 percent of the asylum applications come from these large families in Salzburg, which both schools and kindergartens are extremely stressful, so Kosmo .

The Austrian authorities react with strict measures to prevent abuse. However, Claudia Plakolm, the new family minister, explains that there is no general suspicion of Ukrainian refugees, emphasizes the need to prevent possible abuse in family allowance. Therefore, access to this aid will only be extended by half a year in the future instead of by one year. As part of these measures, a task force should also be set up that critically examines those cases in which families who have previously moved into social assistance in other EU countries move to Austria to benefit from the more attractive services. A special unit has the order to work out stricter criteria from October 31 to prevent Austria from further strengthening the reputation as a "social hammock" in Europe, according to the reporting of Federal Chancellery .