Strengthening of Volunteer Services: Greens Demand Better Funding - Germany plans major expansion of voluntary service programs by year's end
The Green Party has welcomed Family Minister Karin Prien's (CDU) announced plans to strengthen voluntary service programs—but is also calling for better funding. "Strengthening voluntary services is the right and long-overdue step, but it must not remain mere symbolic politics," Green Party parliamentary group deputy Misbah Khan told the AFP news agency on Tuesday. "A new legal framework alone will not solve the existing problems." What is crucial, she said, is "reliable and adequate funding in the federal budget."
Khan criticized the fact that service providers have been operating under financial uncertainty for years and must fight for their funding with every new budget cycle. "Under these conditions, sustainable development is impossible."
The Green Party politician emphasized that young people's willingness to take on responsibility is not the issue. Instead, motivated applicants are turned away every year due to a lack of available positions. "The central problem is not a lack of commitment, but a lack of capacity," Khan noted. "Logically, the political goal should be a legal right for everyone to participate in voluntary service."
Khan also urged that voluntary services be designed to be "intergenerational." "Adults and people in later stages of life are ready to get involved and take on responsibility," she told AFP.
In an interview with the Rheinische Post, Federal Family Minister Prien announced plans to introduce a draft law to strengthen voluntary services later this year. Prien also sees this as preparation for a potential civilian service, should conscription be reintroduced.
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