Ampel coalition wants to introduce supplementary budget for 2023
Published: Thursday, Nov 23rd 2023, 16:00
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The traffic light coalition wants to introduce a supplementary budget for this year due to the Karlsruhe budget ruling. In consultation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens), he will present a corresponding draft to the cabinet next week, announced Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) in Berlin on Thursday. In this way, expenditure, in particular for the gas and electricity price brakes, should be legally secured retrospectively.
Here, loans were used which, according to the Federal Government's assessment, were not available following the ruling of the Constitutional Court. Lindner did not say explicitly whether the supplementary budget would again suspend the debt brake.
Without the safeguard, the 2023 budget would have been in danger of breaching the constitution following the ruling by the judges in Karlsruhe. This is because the judges ruled that the federal government may not set aside emergency loans for later years. However, according to experts, this is exactly what the federal government did in the economic stabilization fund for the energy price brakes.
By the end of October, 37 billion euros had already been spent from this fund this year, and further money is likely to be added by the end of the year. In addition, aid from a fund for flood victims, which was created in 2021 under similar conditions, is to be secured. In total, Lindner wants to put loans amounting to around 45 billion euros on a constitutionally secure footing.
"I see it as my job to clear the air now," said Lindner. Only then can we talk about next year's budget and the years to come. The federal budget for the current year is to be put on a constitutionally secure footing by the supplementary budget before the end of the year. However, it remains to be seen when the federal budget for the coming year can be adopted. Following the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, the draft must be thoroughly revised.
Decision date for 2024 budget still open
The SPD, Green and FDP parliamentary groups have therefore canceled the budget resolution planned for next week in the Bundestag. However, they have not completely given up on a conclusion before the end of the year. There is the possibility of shortening the deadline and holding special sessions, according to the coalition. Scholz emphasized on Wednesday evening that he expects a swift and very timely conclusion.
He also emphasized that the traffic light coalition wanted to stick to its plans in social, climate and economic policy. However, it is still unclear what will actually happen to the projects that are to be financed from the climate and transformation fund. Following the Karlsruhe ruling, this special fund for climate protection and the development of a carbon-neutral economy lacks 60 billion euros, which had already been firmly earmarked. The court had declared the reallocation of these loans, which had actually been approved to combat the coronavirus, null and void.
According to the coalition, the legally binding expenditure can still be met in the coming year. The fund also has income from the CO2 price, among other things. However, the remaining money will not be enough for all projects. The SPD, Greens and FDP are in strong disagreement as to where to cut, prioritize or completely eliminate funding.
Union politicians in favor of reforming the debt brake
Economists and politicians from the SPD and the Greens had suggested a reform of the debt brake to solve the problem. On Thursday, a CDU Minister President surprisingly also argued for this. "The debt brake is a good idea in terms of sound finances. However, I consider its current form to be dangerous," explained Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner on X (formerly Twitter) as well as in an interview with the magazine "Stern". "Because, as I have been saying for some time, it is to be feared that the debt brake will increasingly become a brake on the future." In his opinion, loans should be permitted for investments, Wegner said.
CDU party leader Friedrich Merz had previously defended the debt brake on the ARD talk show "Maischberger". "At the moment, I don't see that we need to approach the debt brake," he said.
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