Dressel: Debt brake becomes a brake on investment
Hamburg's Finance Senator Andreas Dressel fears that the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on the debt brake will have serious consequences for necessary future investments. Until now, he had been "a supporter of the debt brake - always on the condition that certain flexibilities could be used in its application", said the SPD politician in Hamburg on Wednesday. "Karlsruhe is now massively restricting this flexibility for the federal government. This will have serious consequences for the traffic light, climate protection and the urgently needed transformation of our country."
States that had set up special funds using exceptions to the debt brake or wanted to do so would now also have to put this to the test. "The ruling is intended to legally strengthen the debt brake, but politically it will achieve the opposite. Unfortunately, the debt brake will increasingly become a brake on investment," said Dressel.
The ruling has no direct impact on Hamburg, "as we do not have such a fund with transferred corona funds".
On Wednesday, the Federal Constitutional Court declared the federal government's second supplementary budget for 2021 unconstitutional and null and void due to a breach of the exceptions to the debt brake. With the budget amendment, the federal government wanted to invest loans in climate protection that were originally intended for coronavirus measures.
- The Bundestag will need to navigate through complex processes to adapt to the Federal Constitutional Court's judgments, as they significantly limit the flexibility of the Federal Government in using exemptions to the debt brake for investments.
- Various political parties may diverge in their views on how to manage the consequences of the court ruling, as it potentially impacts trafic light coalition's climate protection and transformation initiatives.
- It remains to be seen how the ruling will influence household budgets, as the strict application of the debt brake may lead to reductions in public investments that could benefit families and individuals.
- The Federal Government's approach to finance and investment will be scrutinized more closely due to the constitutional court judgments, as the court has reiterated the importance of adhering to the constitution's debt brake principles.
Source: www.dpa.com
