Council of States tackles the federal budget for 2025
Published: Monday, Dec 9th 2024, 05:40
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On Monday afternoon, the Council of States will discuss the 2025 federal budget. Like the National Council, the Council of States Finance Committee also wants to make more money available to the army for next year, namely an additional CHF 530 million.
The need for money for armaments and the debt brake are likely to dominate the debate in the Council of States. However, while the National Council has cut funding for foreign aid to the army by CHF 250 million, the Finance Committee of the Council of States (FK-S) only wants a cut of CHF 30 million.
Instead, it is asking the small chamber for other compensation. In the area of asylum, it is requesting a reduction in expenditure totaling CHF 185 million compared to the Federal Council, particularly in social assistance for refugees. The National Council cut the asylum budget by just CHF 105 million.
The Federal Administration is also to make a contribution with cross-cutting cuts. For example, the Commission wants to make savings on cost-of-living adjustments and contracts with external consulting firms. It also wants to spend less on daycare costs, federal buildings and the environment and energy.
Like the National Council, the Council of States Committee wants to leave direct payments for farmers at the current level in 2025 and not cut them. A narrow majority wants to support the cultivation of sugar beet with an additional CHF 1 million and the purchase of bluetongue vaccine with CHF 10 million.
Due to the tight finances, there is hardly any room for the Councillors to make upward adjustments if the 2025 budget is to comply with the debt brake. With the proposals of the FK-S, the Council of States is assuming a structural balance of CHF 6.5 million. With the resolutions of the National Council, the figure is CHF 13.8 million.
The budget prepared by the Federal Council only complies with the debt brake requirements thanks to billions of francs in relief measures, higher estimated revenue and the extraordinary recognition of expenditure in connection with Status S. The total federal budget amounts to around CHF 85 billion.
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