As a result of the Federal Constitutional Court’s budget ruling, the federal government has to compensate billions. This could be even higher than previously feared.
According to SPD politician Katja Mast, the federal government will have to compensate for billions in the 2024 budget. “I am assuming a higher double-digit billion amount,” said the parliamentary managing director of the SPD parliamentary group on Wednesday in Berlin. This results from the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court and its consequences for the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) and the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF).
Finance Minister Christian Lindner and the FDP speak of a sum in the low double-digit billions. The size of the gap is also important for the question of whether it can be offset through savings or whether an emergency could be declared again as part of the debt brake.
Mast for another emergency
Mast spoke out in favor of declaring another emergency for 2024. “The SPD is convinced that a justification can be found for this,” she said, referring to the Ukraine war and the follow-up costs for Germany, the transformation costs for a climate-neutral economy and maintaining social cohesion. The politician referred to huge subsidies that the USA, China and also France paid to restructure their economies.
She expects that the coalition committee of the SPD, Greens and FDP will deal with the question on Wednesday evening. “But the entire package will not be on the table until tonight.” The traffic lights will continue to hold together.
With the goodwill of everyone involved, it will also be possible to pass the 2024 budget this year, said Mast. If this is not possible, it would not be a waste of time if there was a provisional budget until February 1st. She rejected the opposition’s allegations that Germany was in a state crisis. “The state is fully capable of acting,” emphasized the SPD politician.
