Economics ministers stick to all projects
Politicians are sorting themselves out after the BGH ruling on the budget, as are the economics ministers. The new course at federal and state level is unanimous: all plans should go ahead despite the lack of capital. Even the leader of the Free Voters, Aiwanger, is toeing the line of Federal Minister Habeck.
Despite the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), the economics and energy ministers of the federal states and the Green Federal Minister Robert Habeck want to stick to the projects to be financed from it. "All the projects that we have conceived must be made possible," said Habeck after a meeting with colleagues from the federal states in Berlin.
Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs and leader of the Free Voters, Hubert Aiwanger, spoke of "indispensable" and "existentially important" projects so that "Germany as a business location has a competitive future". Armin Willingmann, SPD Energy Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, emphasized that individual projects could not be cut back: "Ranking them is simply out of the question."
The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that 60 billion euros in unused credit authorizations for the fight against the corona pandemic may not be shifted to the KTF. The financing of numerous climate and industrial policy projects - from the development of a hydrogen network to subsidies for the establishment of chip manufacturers - is now on the brink.
SPD and Greens want to soften the debt brake
The three ministers emphasized that there was cross-party and cross-regional agreement at the meeting of the economics and energy ministers that these funds must be found elsewhere. They called on the Federal Government and the Bundestag to work together to find a solution.
They did not provide any further details on what such a solution might look like. Habeck and SPD politician Willingmann were openly in favor of declaring an economic emergency for the current and coming year in order to suspend the debt brake. Willingmann said that there were different views among the parties on this point.
Aiwanger also did not rule out financing via new debt. "We will then discuss whether to tackle the debt brake, whether to cut back on other projects, whether to come up with new financing options. Whatever," said the Bavarian. "But in any case, our economic policy projects must be brought to fruition."
- Despite the Federal Constitutional Court's decision, Robert Habeck, the Green Federal Minister for Economics and Climate Action, has confirmed that they will continue to finance projects from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), even if it means finding alternative sources of financing.
- Hubert Aiwanger, the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs and leader of the Free Voters, recognizes the importance of climate and industrial policy projects such as hydrogen network development and chip manufacturer subsidies, which are now at risk due to the court's ruling.
- The ruling has resulted in a deficit of 60 billion euros in financing for climate and industrial policy projects, putting Robert Habeck's climate protection and climate policy agenda at risk.
- In light of the current debt brake rules, both SPD politician Armin Willingmann and Green Minister Robert Habeck have suggested declaring an economic emergency to temporarily suspend the debt brake, allowing for more funding for essential projects like climate protection and infrastructure development.
Source: www.ntv.de
