Household - Lange comments on the consequences of the constitutional court ruling
Brandenburgan Finance Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) presents the consequences of the Constitutional Court's judgment on the billion-dollar Brandenburg Aid Package in a special session of the Landtag on Thursday. It is still unclear which specific conclusions the ministry will draw. Since Friday, consequences for the supplementary budget 2024 have been drawn. "The review is ongoing," said ministry spokesperson Thomas Vieweg on Wednesday.
By midday, the ministries had to report any unpaid funds to the ministry for an inventory. Minister Lange had imposed a ban on the approval of expenditures after the judgment, as reported by several media.
The Court had declared the regulations of 2022 for the aid package to alleviate the energy crisis after the Ukraine War invalid and granted the AfD Landtag faction's complaint in this regard on Friday. However, the package does not have to be wound down retroactively.
The Constitutional Court judges held that the declaration of a state of emergency at the time was justified but criticized insufficient justifications for the aid. Of the approximately 1 billion Euros planned for support this year, only about 850 million Euros were ultimately bound. The AfD in the Landtag announced a constitutional complaint about the supplementary budget for this year on Tuesday.
Rechnungshof President Christoph Weiser referred to the fact that his office had already pointed out during the Corona Pandemic that measures and emergency decrees must be consistent. "I therefore wish that the government and parliament would have dealt more intensively with the arguments of the Audit Court not only in the formulation of the new rbb-State Treaty, but also in the interpretation of the regulations on the debt brake," Weiser told the German Press Agency.
Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) had announced over the weekend that the state government would act after the Constitutional Court ruling. He also defended the aid, which benefited municipalities, hospitals, companies, and associations.
The Brandenburg Package had already been amended in response to the federal Constitutional Court's budget judgment of the previous year. The Landtag declared an exceptional situation for 2024 again separately, a precautionary provision of 500 million Euros was deleted, and the Germany Ticket was removed from the package.
Constitutional Court Judgment Brandenburg on Aid Package
- Katrin Lange, the Brandenburgan Finance Minister and SPD member, is set to discuss the implications of the Constitutional Court's ruling on the Brandenburg Aid Package during a special session of the Landtag on Thursday.
- Thomas Vieweg, the ministry spokesperson, cited an ongoing review when talking about the conclusions that the ministry would draw from the judgment.
- The Constitutional Court had invalidated the regulations for the aid package enacted in 2022, triggering criticism for insufficient justifications in light of the aid's intended purpose to alleviate the energy crisis post-Ukraine War.
- The AfD Landtag faction, having lodged a complaint, announced a constitutional complaint about the supplementary budget for this year on Tuesday.
- Christoph Weiser, the Rechnungshof President, criticized the government and parliament for not adequately addressing the arguments of the Audit Court, particularly in connection with the new rbb-State Treaty and the interpretation of regulations related to the debt brake.
- Following the Constitutional Court ruling, Minister-President Dietmar Woidke declared that the state government would take action and defended the aid package, which had been designed to support municipalities, hospitals, companies, and associations.
