No need for change in NRW after Karlsruhe ruling
Following the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the reallocation of federal funds, NRW Finance Minister Marcus Optendrenk (CDU) sees no need for changes to the state finances in North Rhine-Westphalia. "According to our initial assessment, the ruling has no direct impact on the budgetary practice of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia or on the special fund for crisis management in Ukraine," said Optendrenk on Wednesday. He sees clear differences between the situation in the federal government and that in NRW in key points of the ruling.
Optendrenk emphasized that in NRW, the connection between the emergency situation and the use of the special fund had been established by parliament and that the funds could only be used for this purpose. The special fund "Coping with the crisis situation as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine" of up to five billion euros would only be available in 2023. Furthermore, the 2023 state budget and the special fund had already been adopted by parliament at the end of 2022. This means there are further differences.
The Federal Constitutional Court had previously declared a reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 federal budget to be unconstitutional and null and void. The federal government is therefore not allowed to use funds intended to combat the coronavirus crisis for climate protection.
- The Federal Government's attempt to reallocate funds from combating the coronavirus crisis to climate protection was deemed unconstitutional by the Bundesverfassungsgericht, or Federal Constitutional Court.
- In contrast to the Federal Government, the Bundestag in North Rhine-Westphalia established a clear connection between the emergency situation and the use of the special fund for crisis management in Ukraine.
- Despite the ruling, NRW Finance Minister Marcus Optendrenk sees no need for changes to the state finances in North Rhine-Westphalia, as the special fund is only available in 2023 and the 2023 state budget and special fund have already been approved by the parliament.
- Optendrenk's position is that the parties in the Bundestag in NRW have followed proper processes under the German Constitution, which allows for the use of the special fund only for its intended purpose.
Source: www.dpa.com
