Budget 2024 - Green light? Traffic light continues negotiations on federal budget
The wait for a compromise in the budget crisis continues: despite days of negotiations between Chancellor Olaf Scholz(SPD), Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) behind closed doors, there is still no agreement in sight on next year's budget.
The federal government will meet for a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. It is eagerly awaited whether the budget will also be discussed. The topic was not on the official list of cabinet topics on Tuesday evening.
Cabinet decision or circulation procedure
In order for the budget to be adopted this year, the cabinet would ideally give the green light for the plans on Wednesday. However, it would also be possible for a decision to be made by circular resolution, i.e. in writing. In this case, the Budget Committee and then the Bundestag would deliberate first, the latter probably in a special budget week directly before Christmas. The Bundesrat could approve the plans on December 22. SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken said on Tuesday evening on the ZDF program "Markus Lanz" that the timetable was ambitious. However, the people deserved to have certainty.
According to Lindner, around 17 billion euros are missing from the federal budget for the coming year following the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court three weeks ago. Germany's highest court had declared the reallocation of 60 billion euros null and void. The money had been approved as a coronavirus loan, but was later to be used for investments in climate protection and modernizing the economy. The judges also ruled that the federal government may not set aside loans approved in emergency situations for later years.
Tug-of-war over citizens' income continues
Whilst the leaders of the traffic light coalition are discussing, the wrangling over possible savings in social spending continues. The CDU/CSU reiterated its demand for an adjustment to the citizen's income. "Our goal must be to get people into work and not to lure them into inactivity. For some recipients, the amount of the citizen's income alone acts like a shutdown bonus," said Thorsten Frei, Parliamentary Director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, in the Rheinische Post newspaper.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, the increase in the citizen's allowance planned for the beginning of 2024 cannot be withdrawn. "The payment processes are already underway," a spokesperson for the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg told the Funke Mediengruppe (Wednesday). "It is no longer technically possible to implement other values for January 2024 than those published so far."
FDP pleads for "zero round"
The more than five million recipients of citizen's income in Germany are to receive an average of around 12 percent more money on January 1, 2024, according to the federal government - single people will then receive 563 euros. However, the debate about the amount of the citizen's income has flared up again due to the budget problems. Both CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder consider the increase to be unreasonably high. The FDP, the party with the traffic light system, is also pushing for a reassessment of the standard rates in view of the slowdown in inflation.
The chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Christian Dürr, pleaded for savings in the year after next in the newspaper "Bild". "If the Citizen's Income rises more than inflation in 2024, there must be a zero round the following year. Legally, that is also possible. Anything else would send the wrong signal." He also called for a recalculation of the procedure.
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- In the ongoing budget negotiations, the leaders of the coalition, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens), and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), are striving to reach a compromise on the federal budget for 2024.
- Despite numerous discussions behind closed doors, the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, has yet to approve the budget for next year due to a budget crisis.
- Following the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court three weeks ago, approximately 17 billion euros are missing from the federal budget for 2024, as declared by Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
- To avoid a delayed approval, the German federal government is eagerly awaiting a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, during which the leaders may give the green light to the budget plans or issue a circular resolution for further deliberation in the Bundestag.
- If the budget is approved by the cabinet, the Budget Committee and the Bundestag will discuss the plans first, likely during a special budget week before Christmas in Berlin.
- The economic ramifications of the budget crisis have left the SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken expressing her hopes that the timetable for approval remains ambitious, ensuring certainty for the German people.
- While the coalition leaders negotiate, the debate over possible savings in social spending such as the citizens' income continues, with the CDU/CSU demanding an adjustment to prevent inactivity.
- The Federal Employment Agency has confirmed that the increase in the citizens' income, planned for the beginning of 2024, cannot be withdrawn due to technical reasons as the payment processes have already begun.
- The FDP, a member of the coalition, is advocating for reduced standard rates for the citizens' income in view of the slowdown in inflation, with the parliamentary group chairman Christian Dürr urging for savings in the following year and a potential "zero round" in 2025 if the increase surpasses inflation rates.
Source: www.stern.de
