Finances - Günther calls for federal participation in storm surge damage
More than a month after the severe storm surge in the Baltic Sea, Schleswig-Holstein's Minister President Daniel Günther (CDU) still expects the federal government to make an appropriate contribution to dealing with the damage. The background to this are media reports that the federal government does not want to participate in the reconstruction. This is according to a report by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
A government spokesperson confirmed on Sunday evening in response to an inquiry from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the flood was not considered a natural disaster of national proportions. "A working group was agreed as part of the meeting between Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of government of the federal states on November 6," he explained. This was to examine whether the damage was of a national scale, such as the devastation in the Ahr Valley in the summer of 2021, which caused damage of up to 30 billion euros at the time.
The working group has now met twice, the government spokesperson continued. The responsible Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture had come to the conclusion that the amount of damage incurred - around 240 million euros - did not indicate that the storm surge was a natural disaster of national proportions. However, he indirectly held out the prospect of federal funds from another pot.
According to the government spokesman, the federal government is already making a significant contribution to the funding of coastal protection measures as part of the joint task of "improving agricultural structures and climate protection" (GAK) and is covering more than two thirds of the costs incurred. "As part of the working group, it was agreed to examine whether any remaining unspent GAK funds for 2023 could be reallocated and made available to the two federal states concerned. This review is currently underway."
A spokeswoman for the State Chancellery in Kiel said on Sunday in response to an inquiry that the report by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had been noted with surprise. The State Chancellery had not yet officially received such an assessment.
The Minister President emphasized: "I trust the Chancellor's word." At the Conference of Minister Presidents on November 6, the Federal Chancellor had promised that the federal government would contribute appropriately to the costs incurred by the severe storm surge on the Baltic Sea coast in October. "It is time for the federal government to clarify how this promise will be implemented."
The storm surge on the night of October 21 caused enormous destruction along the Baltic coast. One woman lost her life on Fehmarn.
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Source: www.stern.de
