Brandenburg cabinet discusses supplementary budget

Household - Brandenburg cabinet discusses supplementary budget

The Brandenburg Cabinet, under Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD), is expected to discuss the new supplementary budget today in relation to the constitutionally questionable regulation of the Brandenburg Aid Package from 1.5 years ago. According to statements from the state government, the amended supplementary budget is the topic of the meeting in Potsdam.

The aid package, which has approved around 850 million Euros in relief measures for this year, should no longer be financed through new debts. The aid is intended to support families, municipalities, hospitals, and the economy.

The Constitutional Court declared the regulations for the aid package in 2022, which were passed to alleviate the energy crisis following the Ukraine War, invalid. The AfD state parliamentary faction had previously filed a lawsuit. The payments approved are not affected retroactively. However, the court did not address the supplementary budget 2024, which the state parliament passed as a consequence of the federal constitutional court's budget judgment.

The Left warns against financing from the reserve

The state parliament passed a majority resolution in the previous week that the relief measures should be financed from the reserve. Finance Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) would thereby avoid invoking a new emergency situation and a clearer description of the connection between relief measures and emergency situation, which the Constitutional Court demands.

Fraktion leader Sebastian Walter warns against a complete financing from the reserve. "The effect would first and foremost be that the next state government would hardly be able to act effectively," he said. And: "We will need further investments."

Walter referred to schools and kindergartens, as well as social political measures. It must be precisely checked whether loans could not be taken out instead. "The emergency situation is still in our view," he said.

1. The Brandenburg Government, led by Minister-President Dietmar Woidke from the SPD, is set to deliberate on the amended supplementary budget, focusing on the constitutionally dubious regulations from the Brandenburg Aid Package of 1.5 years ago in Potsdam.
2. The SPD's Finance Minister Katrin Lange suggests financing the relief measures from the reserve in the new supplementary budget to avoid invoking another emergency situation and providing a clearer explanation of the connection between the measures and the emergency situation, as demanded by the Constitutional Court.
3. Despite warnings from the Left, the state parliament passed a resolution last week to finance the relief measures from the reserve, aiming to avoid invoking a new emergency situation and providing a clearer explanation, as demanded by the Constitutional Court.
4. The SPD's Fraktion leader Sebastian Walter opposes completely financing the supplementary budget from the reserve, expressing concerns that the next state government might struggle to act effectively and may require further investments in areas such as schools, kindergartens, and social-political measures.
5. The SPD government in Brandenburg expects to discuss the new supplementary budget to address the constitutionally questionable regulations of the Brandenburg Aid Package, along with the need for funds to support households, municipalities, hospitals, and the economy, in their meeting in Potsdam.

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