Esken: Timetable for 2024 budget will be clarified soon
According to SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken, the coalition with the traffic light system wants to set the timetable for the adoption of the 2024 federal budget shortly. "That will have to be clarified in the coming week," said Esken on the ZDF program "Maybrit Illner".
"We have a very clear timetable, which is very ambitious. And we very much hope that we can keep to it. If we know that we can keep to it, then we will say so." CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz called in vain for clarity to be provided now as to when the budget for the coming year should be in place.
The Federal Constitutional Court had declared the reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget null and void. The money had been approved as a coronavirus loan, but was subsequently to be used for climate protection and modernizing the economy. At the same time, the judges ruled that the state was not allowed to set aside emergency loans for later years. However, this is exactly what the federal government has done in special pots for the energy price brakes, among other things - which is now tearing additional holes in the budget.
Esken: The crises continue
As a result of this ruling, the adoption of the 2024 federal budget has been halted. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) sees a "need for action" of 17 billion euros. The Bundestag will first discuss a supplementary budget for the current year at first reading today. An emergency situation is to be declared and the debt brake suspended. It is still unclear how the traffic light coalition intends to solve the financial problem for the coming year.
Esken emphasized that the crises continue. Bundestag Vice-President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) also said that the burdens from the war in Ukraine would continue next year. "If you are of the opinion that you want to continue supplying weapons, I think we agree on that, if you are of the opinion that you want to ensure reconstruction, then this is an extraordinary situation."
CDU leader Merz assumed that declaring the emergency for 2023 "can be done in this way". For 2024, however, he agreed with Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP): "The state does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem." The traffic light must first clarify this among themselves. "With 1000 billion euros in tax revenue and a federal budget of 445 billion euros, there can be no emergency if we have to make savings of 17 billion euros elsewhere. I believe that this is possible," said Merz.
- Despite the challenges posed by ongoing crises, as mentioned by Saskia Esken, the Coalition aims to establish a clear timetable for approving the 2024 federal budget shortly.
- The Federal Government, amidst a 17 billion euro budget adjustment due to the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling, now relies on the SPD-led coalition, led by Saskia Esken, to devise a strategic solution for the financial challenges in the coming year.
Source: www.dpa.com
