Kühnert points to Ukraine war as reason for suspending the debt ceiling
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert considers the consequences of the war in Ukraine to be a sufficient basis for suspending the debt brake this year and next. The prerequisite for this is generally that "external circumstances (...) cause enormous costs and this was not foreseeable in the long term", said Kühnert on Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg's Inforadio. This is "exactly what has qualified the situation since the beginning of the Ukraine war".
"That is why this is a completely correct statement for 2023," added Kühnert. And his assessment is that "the same will of course apply for next year".
Kühnert reiterated that he believes the suspension of the debt brake will also be necessary next year. He pointed out that the Federal Constitutional Court had declared the replenishment of the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) with unused loans from the coronavirus pandemic to be inadmissible. It must therefore be clarified where the 60 billion euros earmarked by the "traffic light" for energy transition projects until 2027 should now come from structurally.
"I don't know of any party that has even the slightest savings proposal that would bring in 60 billion without completely tearing society apart at the same time," said Kühnert. "That's why everyone involved in the debate must be honest and say that it is completely permissible to make use of the exception to the debt rule in an emergency situation, which we still have." Because the necessary investments could "never be financed from the core budget".
- Kühnert explicitly stated that the Ukraine war was the reason why he proposed suspending the debt brake for both 2023 and 2024, as external circumstances caused unprecedented costs that were not foreseeable in the long term.
- The Federal Constitutional Court's decision to declare replenishing the Climate and Transformation Fund with unused loans from the coronavirus pandemic as inadmissible complicates financial planning for the "traffic light" coalition's energy transition projects, as 60 billion euros must be found to continue these initiatives.
- Kühnert argued that the only viable solution to secure the necessary investments for the energy transition is to adopt an exception to the debt rule in an emergency situation, as making up the required 60 billion euros through savings would significantly harm society without providing a feasible alternative.
Source: www.ntv.de
