Ministers Reluctant to Implement Budget Cuts Need to Report to Finance Minister
Lindner calls for budget reductions across all federal ministries in the 2025 budget. On the other hand, five departments claim they need more financial support. As a result, the chancellor has arranged for these ministers to talk with Scholz, Lindner, and Economics Minister Habeck.
The federal government aims to reach a resolution at the top level in the budget conflict. In an effort to discuss the matter further, Chancellor Scholz plans to hold separate meetings with the five ministers opposed to the spending plans for 2025, along with Finance Minister Lindner and Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Habeck.
According to a statement from government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, they aim to make progress so that the cabinet can establish the budget by the beginning of July. He referred to Scholz's statements expressing the need to align desires and reality. Hebestreit mentioned an ongoing process over the next few weeks. Initially, the "Handelsblatt" reported on meetings between Scholz, Habeck, and Lindner with department heads at the Chancellery.
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Five department heads are requesting funds way above Lindner's proposed budget. According to the report, they are Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Development Minister Svenja Schulze, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
These ministers are in a difficult position: Scholz mentioned the possibility of exemptions from the debt brake in response to spending uncertainties. He informed the magazine "Stern": "We shouldn't make things easy for ourselves. First, we need to sweat it out."
Lindner reiterated his stance. "We must create a budget that is in line with the constitution and the economic situation," said the FDP leader on the ZDF show "Berlin live" on Sunday evening. Reducing new debts for economic reasons was not always possible, he stated. Lindner mentioned a deficit in the federal budget of around low double-digit billions for 2025. The debt brake prescribed in the Basic Law is a necessity for Lindner.
Finance Minister Lindner established spending limits for the various ministries. "Now, the ministers must create their individual plans, their departmental planning within these restrictions." This is also a prerequisite, he said, for the Rentenpaket II to be discussed in the federal cabinet this week.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, speaking to "Stern," stated she requires the necessary funding to set up security agencies, stating: "Cuts to our security agencies are not an option for me." She explained the importance of defending against increasingly frequent cyber attacks, implementing stricter border control, and speeding up asylum procedures. "This requires more personnel and technology. There's currently not enough of it available at the zero tariff," the Interior Minister concluded.
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- Annalena Baerbock, as the Foreign Minister, is among the five department heads requesting funds beyond Lindner's proposed budget for 2025.
- Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, has arranged discussions between these five ministers and Finance Minister Lindner to address the budget conflict.
- Svenja Schulze, the Development Minister, and Boris Pistorius, the Defense Minister, are also among the ministers seeking additional financial support apart from Lindner's budget plans.
- Hubertus Heil, the Labor Minister, and Nancy Faeser, the Interior Minister, have emphasized the necessity of sufficient funding for their respective departments, as cuts are not an option for them.
- Christian Lindner, the Finance Minister, maintains that the budget must align with the constitution and the economic situation, and he stresses the importance of adhering to the debt brake prescribed in the Basic Law.
Source: www.ntv.de
