Constitutional complaint - Budget ruling could have consequences for Brandenburg package
The Brandenburg Constitutional Court considers possible consequences of the budget ruling from Karlsruhe for the billion-euro Brandenburg package to be conceivable. "Even if it is not a special fund, it cannot be ruled out that conclusions can be drawn from the statements regarding the legal situation in Brandenburg," the spokeswoman for the state constitutional court told the German Press Agency in Potsdam.
The court will not make a final decision on a complaint by the AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament regarding the Brandenburg aid package until next year. "The decision is no longer scheduled for this year," said the spokesperson. The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the supplementary budget for 2021 will certainly be taken into account.
The Federal Constitutional Court had declared the transfer of coronavirus billions to the Climate and Transformation Fund - a special fund - in the 2021 supplementary budget to be inadmissible. This means that the fund lacks 60 billion euros in loans. The judges in Karlsruhe also ruled that the state may not set aside emergency loans for later years. The court also referred to the principle of annuality, according to which authorizations may only be used until the end of the financial year.
The Brandenburg state parliament had declared an extraordinary emergency for 2023 and 2024 so that up to two billion euros in new debt could be raised via the Brandenburg package to deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine. It was not financed from coronavirus funds and is part of the 2023/2024 double budget. Funds will flow to municipalities, hospitals, daycare parents, schools, universities, sports clubs and the expansion of civil protection, for example.
According to Finance Minister Katrin Lange (SPD), possible effects of the ruling from Karlsruhe on the package are being examined. She also referred to the Constitutional Court. Lange emphasized that no corona emergency loans had been reallocated in Brandenburg. At the same time, she pointed out that there must be a factual and temporal connection between the use of the funds and the state parliament's emergency resolution.
CDU parliamentary group leader Jan Redmann also sees a need for review. The state parliament has declared the emergency in a resolution for the years 2023 and 2024. Whether this is valid or whether two separate decisions are necessary must be examined.
The Constitutional Court rejected an urgent application by the AfD parliamentary group against the aid package in August. At the time, the court justified this by stating that the reasons for suspending a law were not particularly weighty. However, in their urgent decision, the judges did not rule out the possibility that the principles of the budget could be affected and violated. In the opinion of the AfD parliamentary group, the state parliament had not explained the extraordinary emergency situation sufficiently and had not justified why the need for money could not be financed with cuts, but instead debt was incurred.
Federal Constitutional Court ruling on the budget Brandenburg Constitutional Court ruling on urgent application for Brandenburg package Brandenburg aid package measures
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- Despite the potential consequences of the budget ruling from Karlsruhe on the Brandenburg aid package, the Constitutional Court in Potsdam has not yet made a final decision on the AfD parliamentary group's complaint.
- The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that the transfer of coronavirus billions to the Climate and Transformation Fund in the 2021 supplementary budget was inadmissible, resulting in a 60 billion euro shortfall for the fund.
- The Brandenburg state parliament declared an extraordinary emergency for 2023 and 2024 to raise up to 2 billion euros via the Brandenburg package to deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
- Finance Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) is examining the potential effects of the ruling from Karlsruhe on the package and refers to the Constitutional Court.
- The CDU parliamentary group leader, Jan Redmann, sees a need for review regarding whether the state parliament's emergency declaration for 2023 and 2024 is valid or requires separate decisions.
- The Constitutional Court rejected the AfD parliamentary group's urgent application against the aid package in August, stating that the reasons for suspending the law were not particularly weighty.
- Germany's household budgets might be affected if the Constitutional Court rules against the 2023/2024 double budget due to insufficient justification for raising debt to finance the aid package.
- Environmental groups and climate activists argue that the use of coronavirus aid for climate projects is necessary but worry that the Budget judgment could hinder the allocation of funds for environmental initiatives.
Source: www.stern.de
