Black-Greens see budget emergency in the north after ruling
Following the budget ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the CDU and Greens have identified a budget emergency in Schleswig-Holstein. The coalition factions want to have a budget emergency for the current year declared in next week's state parliament session with an urgent motion, as the faction leaders Tobias Koch (CDU) and Lasse Petersdotter (Greens) announced on Thursday. "The consequences of the crises of recent years are continuing this year and will also have an impact on the state's budget situation in 2023." Parliament is to declare an extraordinary emergency situation in accordance with the state constitution.
Special funds have been common practice in Schleswig-Holstein for years, for example the Impuls program for road construction. During the coronavirus pandemic, the state parliament approved an emergency coronavirus loan of up to 5.5 billion euros in 2020, but later reduced it. Parliament also approved an emergency loan for Ukraine totaling 1.4 billion euros. The President of the State Court of Auditors, Gaby Schäfer, told the German Press Agency after the ruling by the judges in Karlsruhe: "Emergency loans must not be taken out in advance and parked in reserves and special assets for several years."
On Wednesday, the Federal Constitutional Court declared a reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 federal budget unconstitutional and null and void. The federal government is therefore not allowed to use money intended to combat the coronavirus crisis for climate protection. This could have a major impact on the so-called Climate and Transformation Fund, from which the federal government wanted to pay for numerous funding programs - including the replacement of old oil and gas heating systems.
In light of the identified budget emergency in Schleswig-Holstein, the state Parliament might need to carefully consider its household finances to align with the revised budget. Additionally, the decision by the Federal Constitutional Court about emergency loans could impact the way future special funds, such as those used for household savings or financial aid programs, are managed.
Source: www.dpa.com
