Haseloff in favor of reforming the debt brake
Saxony-Anhalt's Minister President Reiner Haseloff believes a reform of the debt brake is necessary. "The debt brake must remain," the CDU politician told Stern magazine. "But for very important future investments in the economy, technology and science, constitutionally compliant ways must be found to realize them."
The debt brake enshrined in the Basic Law only gives the federal government limited scope for borrowing. Exceptions are permitted in the event of natural disasters and exceptional emergencies, such as the recent coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
A reform of the debt brake is not currently on the agenda for the traffic light federal government. "It is not on the agenda at the moment," said government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin on Friday. Following the Federal Constitutional Court's budget ruling, there were differing positions on the debt brake within the coalition government at federal level. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) clearly rejected a relaxation, while the Greens and SPD want to discuss the future of the debt brake. The Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, spoke out against changing the debt brake.
The background to this is the Karlsruhe budget ruling on money that had been approved as a corona loan but was subsequently to be used for climate protection and the modernization of the economy. At the same time, the judges ruled that the state may not reserve emergency loans for later years. As a result, further billions of euros for future projects are at risk.
The Federal Council and various political parties, including the CDU, are advocating for a revised debt brake to facilitate significant economic investments in areas such as technology and science. Despite the current lack of consensus within the Federal Government, Reiner Haseloff, the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt and CDU politician, continues to advocate for reforms to the debt brake.
Source: www.dpa.com
