Overview
- On Friday, May 22, 2026, Economic Minister Kaweh Mansoori announced a formal change to the state’s review practice that will lower recoveries in about 62,000 still-open cases by roughly €57 million.
- The new rules stop counting available own funds against eligibility and treat loan repayments made during the support period as eligible expenses, which reduces the sums the state can demand back.
- Hesse also offered around €9 million in relief for some 3,260 cases where 2020 emergency grants overlapped with federal Überbrückungshilfe 1, and it will seek negotiated settlements in about 1,100 pending lawsuits.
- For roughly 20,000 closed cases the government will allow on-application waivers or even refunds when repayment would cause particular hardship, while insisting that deliberate or clearly unjustified claims must still be repaid.
- The ministry says the changes, to be implemented by Regierungspräsidium Kassel and aligned with federal practice, cut expected recoveries in the affected open files from about €350 million to about €284 million and drew praise from business groups and criticism from the FDP.