Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, accuses Romanian migrants of placing increasing pressure on the German social system. In a message posted on the X social network, the far-right politician claimed that child benefits, social assistance, and medical services are generating rising costs and called for changes to migration policy.
Weidel referred to the situation in Magdeburg, where, according to her message, which cites data from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency presented in a documentary by regional public broadcaster MDR, the costs associated with Romanian migrants had reached three million euros annually, 20 times more than in the past.
“Child benefits, basic social assistance, healthcare: an increasing number of migrants from Romania are placing excessive pressure on our social welfare system. In Magdeburg alone, costs have increased 20-fold, reaching 3 million euros per year. Only with the AfD will there be a change of direction in migration policy!” Weidel wrote in a message posted on the X platform, according to Ziare.com.
Data presented in Germany show that, in Hagen, approximately 3,100 of the 4,500 registered Romanian citizens receive social benefits. Local authorities estimate that, in 2026, the costs for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens could reach 15 million euros.
In 2013, only 52 Romanians in Hagen benefited from such assistance. The beneficiaries include unemployed people, children, and low-income employees, including people working part-time. European legislation allows worker status to be granted for genuine and effective employment, without a universal minimum number of hours.
Several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia are calling for the rules to be reviewed. According to a WDR investigation, benefits were withdrawn in 2025 from 1,181 Romanians and Bulgarians in four cities.
Context: the debate in Germany about social benefits and fraud, intensified by a documentary and plans for tougher measures
Before the public accusations made by Alice Weidel, a debate on allowances and social benefits granted in Germany flared up again after the broadcast of a documentary produced by the German public broadcaster MDR. The film follows the lives of Romanian families settled in Germany and the effects of migration on communities in their country of origin, and the discussion also entered the political arena, with calls to stop or limit support for certain categories.
At the same time, the federal government in Berlin approved a ten-point plan to combat abuse of social assistance, with stricter checks on entitlement to benefits, faster information sharing between institutions, and investigations into fictitious contracts, undeclared work, and fraudulent employment/reporting. The measures also provide for the possibility of obliging employers to recover damages, as well as suspending certain benefits for persons with final convictions who evade serving their sentences.
In the same political climate, Friedrich Merz recently attacked AfD, claiming that the party promotes a policy of “remigration” that would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” after the party achieved strong results in a state in eastern Germany. The criticism was accompanied by arguments about the economic effects of a mass expulsion of immigrants.
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