Germany updates: Pakistan deports German-approved Afghans – DW – 08/18/2025
Germany's Foreign Office has said more than 200 Afghans who were approved for resettlement in Germany were deported back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan from Pakistan, where they had been temporarily living.
And new statistics show that the German Federal Government paid out over $20 billion in 2024 to people unable to earn a living on their own.
The increase in spending comes as the government is facing a massive budget shortfall. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told German public media that he can not rule out tax increases to fill holes in the budget.Germany's Foreign Ministry said Monday that 211 Afghans who were approved for resettlement in Germany were deported back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan from Pakistan, where they had been temporarily living.
Around 450 Afghans with German admission permits have been detained in Pakistan in preparation for deportation, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson
According to the spokesperson, the German Foreign Ministry is in contact with the Pakistani authorities and is working to try and protect the Afghans.
More 2,000 Afghans who received a promise of admission from Germany after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 are still waiting to leave neighboring Pakistan for Germany.
These include human rights defenders, lawyers, teachers, or journalists, who fear persecution under the radical Islamic Taliban in Afghanistan.
After the withdrawal of German troops, Germany had promised refuge from the Taliban to local staff who had supported Germany, as well as other Afghans facing persecution who fled to Pakistan.
Among them, according to the German Interior Ministry, are about 350 former local staff of German institutions and their families.
For over a year, Pakistan has been deporting large numbers of Afghan refugees. Germany's government has also paused resettlement plans, as it promised to get tougher on migration after taking office earlier this year.
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The German Football Federation (DFB) has launched an investigation after incidents of racist abuse were reported at two German Cup matches on Sunday.
"The supervisory committee is investigating the incidents and initiating investigations against the respective clubs," a spokesman for the DFB told Germany's DPA news agency on Monday.
During a match between lower-league Eintracht Stahnsdorf and second-tier Kaiserslautern at Karl Liebknecht Stadium in Potsdam, located just outside of Berlin, a visiting player who was warming up on the sideline appeared to be insulted from the crowd. The person who shouted the insults was quickly identified.
Another match between second-tier Schalke and fourth division Leipzig Lok was briefly suspended after Schalke's Christopher Antwi-Adjei had a confrontation with fans.
Antwi-Adjei reported the incident to the assistant referee.
"Not everyone said it. I reckon it was an isolated shout. I hope the person thinks twice about those words." Leipzig said racist abuse could not be confirmed by anyone else.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said "there is no place for racism" in football, and added that he expected the DFB to clarify what happened and punish those responsible.
On Monday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo.
During a press conference, Wadephul praised democracy and adherence to the rule of law as shared values, something he said was important in "a time of crises and conflict."
Wadephul singled out China's "increasingly aggressive" behavior in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China seas, as the primary threat to order in the Asia Pacific.
"China repeatedly threatens, more or less openly, to unilaterally change the status quo and shift borders in its favor," Wadephul said.
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Facing a looming gap in the 2027 federal budget, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is not ruling out tax increases.
A comprehensive package is needed to fill a €30 billion gap, the Social Democrat leader and vice chancellor told public broadcaster ZDF on Monday.
"I'm not ruling out any options," Klingbeil said when asked about possible tax increases.
Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are part of a governing coalition with the conservative Christian Democratic Union and the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, which have generally pushed back against raising taxes. Klingbeil said the SPD has always maintained that people with super-high wealth and high incomes should contribute more.
"I am not abandoning this fundamental conviction by joining a coalition. And that is why we will discuss all issues in the coalition: Where can we cut subsidies? Where can we reform these social security systems? Where can savings be made in the ministries?" Klingbeil said.
The finance minister said an "enormous effort" is being undertaken to find savings in the budget, and that he expects all ministries to submit savings proposals.
"This can only be achieved as a team effort," he said.
In the medium-term financial plan that ends in 2029, the planned new debt comes in at €851 billion. Between 2027 and 2029, there will still be a financing gap of around €172 billion.
In 2024, social welfare agencies in Germany spent a net total of €20.2 billion ($23.6 billion) on benefits, amounting to a year-on-year increase of nearly 15%, according to data released Monday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
According to a Destatis press release, spending rose significantly in all areas of social welfare benefits covered by the data, which include all benefits for people who are unable to work and earn their own living.
More than 56% of social welfare spending was attributable to basic income support for the elderly and people with reduced earning capacity, according to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
These benefits, which are financed entirely from federal reimbursements to the states, amounted to €11.4 billion in 2024. This represents an increase of 13.3% over the previous year.
Not included in the data were expenditures related to "Bürgergeld" or the citizen's income scheme, which is support intended for job seekers that is covered under another welfare category.
The uptick in welfare spending comes as Germany faces massive holes in the federal budget. This comes along with consecutive years of economic contraction.
Germany's governing coalition of the conservative CDU/CSU and the SPD has begun to look at reforming the social security system to combat rising costs. Concrete proposals are currently being drafted.
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from the Bonn online news team, and welcome to our coverage of Germany to kick off your week.
Today, we are reporting on German welfare spending, along with comments from the finance minister that he is open to raising taxes on high earners.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister has criticized China's support for Russia while on a visit to Japan.
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