Household - Dispute in Saarland state parliament over transformation fund
A 3 billion euro transformation fund to promote future investments in Saarland remains controversial. This became clear at the beginning of a special session of the state parliament plenary on Monday in Saarbrücken.
However, CDU parliamentary group leader Stephan Toscani said that the opposition would not reject the declaration of a budget emergency despite concerns, but would abstain from voting. The government was "treading on thin ice" with the declaration of an emergency: "But despite all the skepticism in detail and all the objections we have: We assume that the thin ice will hold up."
By declaring an emergency situation, the SPD all-party government wants to secure the transformation fund, of which 2.5 billion euros are debt-financed, despite the debt brake confirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Toscani said that the transformation fund, which among other things is intended to promote the conversion of the Saarland steel industry to the climate-friendly production of "green steel", was too large. It needed to be "shorter, more compact and more concrete". One billion euros is enough. "We must not burn the wood of future generations today," said Toscani. "We have to make sure that our children and grandchildren are still able to act."
SPD parliamentary group leader Ulrich Commerçon disagreed. "The transformation fund will be pretty much empty by the end of 2024," he said. "Overall, we have to assume that 1.4 billion euros from the transformation fund will have to be paid out by the end of next year. That alone shows that if we were to go to one billion euros, it would not be enough." Commerçon said that saving should "not become a general imperative" in such a situation.
In addition to switching to the production of steel with hydrogen instead of coke, the fund will also be used to support the establishment of a chip factory, battery production and a successor to the Ford plant that is about to close.
Against the backdrop of a demonstration by farmers in front of the state parliament against the abolition of subsidies for agricultural diesel, Toscani accused the "traffic light" federal government and in particular Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of failing to keep its own promises. "The Federal Chancellor is recklessly gambling away people's trust. Many people in Germany are simply fed up with this way of doing politics." Commerçon disagreed: Scholz "as Federal Chancellor is facing challenges from a federal government the likes of which have not been seen since the Second World War".
Agenda for the 2024/2025 budget Supplement to the 2024/2025 budget
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- Despite the CDU's concerns, they decided to abstain from voting on declaring a budget emergency for the SPD-led government in Saarland, aiming to secure the 3 billion euro transformation fund, primarily intended for the climate-friendly production of 'green steel' in Saarbrücken.
- The Special meeting in the Saarland state parliament revealed a controversial discussion over the 3 billion euro transformation fund, with SPD parliamentary group leader Ulrich Commerçon arguing that reducing it to 1 billion euros would not be sufficient.
- Amid a special session in Saarbrücken, the CDU parliamentary group leader Stephan Toscani argued that the transformation fund, among other things, promotes the conversion of the Saarland steel industry, but its size should be reduced to 1 billion euros to ensure sustainability for future generations.
- The 3 billion euro transformation fund, currently under debate in a special meeting in the Saarland state parliament, has been met with opposition from Stephan Toscani, who feels the federal government is gambling with people's trust by making promises it cannot keep.
- At the onset of a special session of the Saarland state parliament, Ulrich Commerçon from the SPD parliamentary group affirmed that the transformation fund, intended to promote future investments, would become nearly depleted by 2024, making a 1 billion euro reduction insufficient.
- Amid the Special meeting, CDU parliamentary group leader Stephan Toscani criticized the Federal Constitutional Court's confirmation of the debt brake while the SPD all-party government declared an emergency situation to secure the transformation fund for investing in Saarland's steel industry, among other sectors.
Source: www.stern.de
