CDU leader Merz: No reason to help the traffic light government in difficult negotiations

CDU leader Merz: No reason to help the traffic light government in difficult negotiations

Union fraction leader Friedrich Merz sees no reason for the traffic light government to intervene in their difficult negotiations over the budget draft for 2025. "There are no talks, no proposals from the traffic light," Merz said before a CDU/CSU caucus meeting in the Bundestag in Berlin in response to a question about whether he was willing to help the traffic light government in the budget dispute. The question is not relevant, so his faction does not need to concern itself with it.

Despite contrary announcements, the federal government will not finalize the budget draft for 2025 this week, Merz complained. It is now clear that July 17 is planned for the resolution. It is certain that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will travel to the NATO summit in Washington next week without a budget for 2025 - "and thus without proof that he is keeping the two-percent pledge to NATO."

Moreover, Merz warned of a significant disruption of German-French relations due to the elections in France this Sunday with a possible victory of the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN). He also criticized the motto of the right-wing Hungarian government for the EU Council presidency "Make Europe Great Again" - apparently modeled after the slogan of the American former president Donald Trump. "It would be important in this context for Germany to be a stability anchor in Europe and in the world. We are not, because we have a completely divided federal government," Merz explained.

The government plans to bring the budget to the cabinet on July 17. In order to prepare for the resolution, it is expected that the negotiations will be concluded in the coming days. Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens), and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) have been working for weeks on how to stop a billion-dollar hole in the budget for 2025.

1. Merz mentioned during the CDU/CSU caucus meeting that the traffic light government has not initiated any negotiations or proposals regarding the budget draft for 2025, implying no need for his faction's involvement in the discussion.
2. Despite Merz's complaints, it appears that the federal government is set to finalize the budget draft on July 17, leaving Chancellor Scholz to attend the NATO summit without a confirmed budget for 2025.
3. Being concerned about the potential disruption of German-French relations due to the French elections, Merz also criticized the right-wing Hungarian government's motto for the EU Council presidency, wishing for Germany to act as a stabilizing force in Europe and globally, given its present divided government.
4. Merz has not expressed any willingness or intention to assist the traffic light government in resolving the budget dispute, as he sees no occasion for such negotiations or involvement from his faction due to a lack of proposals or discussions from the government side.

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