Government spokesman Hebestreit: Traffic light decisions on the budget remain in place
The German government wants to implement the agreement reached by the coalition leaders on the budget despite harsh criticism of individual measures. Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said on Monday in Berlin that the government had reached an agreement last Wednesday after intensive talks and had agreed on savings in the 2024 budget.
The details are currently still being clarified by the Ministry of Finance. "But the general agreement and the basic thrust remain." He sees little "willingness to change" within the federal government. Hebestreit went on to say that he did not currently expect the cabinet to approve a so-called formulation aid for the budget on Wednesday. With regard to planned cuts, he said that it was being examined whether reservations that had been expressed in some cases were correct or not. "But the government is determined to implement the agreement reached on Wednesday."
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner had agreed on how to plug billion-euro holes in the federal budget for 2024 and in the climate and transformation fund following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Planned cuts to the federal budget, such as the abolition of tax breaks for farmers, had triggered fierce protests and are also controversial within the coalition.Hebestreit said that he could understand the protest in view of the demonstration by farmers. However, large sums would have to be saved in the budget - that would not be possible without it hurting somewhere.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
The ongoing 'lifting dispute' over the proposed cuts to farmer tax breaks has caused significant 'ache' within the coalition. Despite this, the government spokesman, Hebestreit, maintains that traffic light decisions on the budget remain in place, indicating a commitment to saving costs wherever possible. Households may be affected by these decisions as they filter down from governmental policies.
Source: www.ntv.de
