2024-07-05 19:02:18
Top fee rates for vulnerable refugees to increase
Vienna (PK) – With the approval of the federal-state agreement on basic care for refugees and the third reading of amendments to the Rules of Procedure Act, national committee Today concludes the week of plenary meetings. Thereafter, only formal matters are voted on, such as the closing of the meeting, the declaration of committee permanence and various requirements for setting deadlines, including related debates on the rules of procedure. During the last week of plenary session before the summer, the National Council adopted a total of 58 legislative resolutions and ratified 5 international treaties and 4 federal-state agreements.
Improving cost rates for vulnerable protection seekers
for federal-state agreementThe bill, which is on the agenda due to a deadline set on Wednesday, amends the existing basic services agreement and received votes from all parliamentary groups except the FPÖ. It sets out higher fees for the care of particularly vulnerable refugees, such as unaccompanied minors or people in need of assistance and protection, retroactive to January 1, 2024. The move is aimed at ensuring there are enough care places amid rising prices. For example, there is now a €112 reimbursement for the costs of special accommodation for people in need of care and accommodation, food and care for unaccompanied minors. If the minor is placed in a facility commissioned by the Child and Youth Welfare Agency, the fee will increase to €130.
According to the agreement explanation, as of April 26, 2024, approximately 74,800 people were receiving basic care, of which 73,100 were receiving basic care in the federal states, including 1,337 unaccompanied minor strangers and 618 requiring special accommodation assistance and Protection from strangers and special care.
During the debate, Johanna Jax (ÖVP) pointed out that caring for unaccompanied refugee minors or disabled refugees is more expensive than normal basic care. She stressed that by increasing the fee rate, it would not be the asylum seekers affected but the care facilities that would receive more funding. Basically, anyone seeking protection and help in Austria will receive protection and help, but asylum seekers also have responsibilities and must “stick to our values,” Jax said.
Reinhold Einwallner (SPÖ) described the increase in cost rates as “very necessary”. In this sense, he was pleased that the federal-state agreement was adopted before the summer, after apparently being transferred from the Council of Ministers to Parliament after a period of delay. In the medium term, he is targeting real cost rates – as agreed with Vienna.
Greens and NEOS criticize countries
According to Georg Bürstmayr of the Green Party, fees will increase by a quarter for unaccompanied refugee minors and by a third for those in need of care. He said this creates a secure financial framework for aid organizations and provides a clear thank you for their work. He hoped the fee rate increase would lead to “closer” care for those affected. He said good care and accommodation were key to successful integration. Burstmaier criticized countries that failed to meet their obligations to accept asylum seekers.
Overall, the MP stressed that this legislative period was achieved without a tightening of asylum laws. Instead, improvements can be achieved through many small measures.
Stephanie Krisper (NEOS) also criticized these countries. She complained that, with the exception of Vienna, no federal state complied with the agreed acquisition quotas. This meant that many children had to stop in a place where they were only supposed to stop briefly, Traiskirchen. According to her, the two minors had been living there for several months because no federal state was willing to take them. Crisper hopes the rate increase will help ensure children receive child-friendly care in the future. Under the Coalition’s guidance, Crisper said the target of caring for unaccompanied refugee minors from day one had also not been achieved during this legislative period.
The agreement was rejected by the FPÖ, although MP Hannes Amesbauer did not give any reasons.
Data protection in the legislative field
Back in June, in response to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by Parliament, the National Council adopted an extensive legislative package that, in addition to a constitutional amendment, provides for, among other things, the Amendments to the Information Regulation Act and the Data Protection Act (see Parliamentary Letter serial number. 627/2024). For example, precautionary measures were taken to ensure that parliamentarians can continue their parliamentary work without hindrance and it was decided to establish separate data protection supervisory bodies for the National Assembly, the Federation Council, the Court of Auditors and the Parliament. The last missing piece of the legislative package was changes to the National Council’s rules of procedure, which were finally decided today. There is no longer any debate about this. (Continued report by the National Committee) gs
Note: Meetings of the National Council and the Federal Council can also be watched via live broadcast and can be viewed at Congressional Media Library usable.
Questions and contact details:
Parliamentary Council Press Office
parliamentary letters
Telephone. +43 1 40110/2272
Pressedienst@parlament.gv.at
www.facebook.com/OeParl
www.twitter.com/oeparl
1720206739
#National #commission #approves #essential #services #agreements #states