Scholz dispels doubts about budgetary opinions
An assessment of the plan for the federal budget 2025 has once again caused a stir in the traffic light coalition. Federal Finance Minister Lindner sees its result as grounds for legal concerns. Federal Chancellor Scholz, however, holds a completely different opinion.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz still considers a strengthening of the railway and the motorway company legally feasible even after the assessments of the budget. "It was sensible to have the handlings options of the federal government reviewed by an assessment, on how the railway and the motorways can be financially supported in the budget. Clear result of the legal assessment: That's possible," said the SPD politician Zeit Online.
The federal government will now consult confidentially about the next steps. Scholz added: "It remains a mystery how the actually clear vote of the legal assessment could have been temporarily misunderstood."
The budget dispute of the traffic light coalition had flared up again in recent days. Background are three projects that were supposed to reduce the financing gap in the budget for the coming year by a total of eight billion euros. Finance Minister Christian Lindner had commissioned assessments of the plans due to legal and economic concerns.
Unused KfW credits at the center of the controversy
The legal professor Johannes Hellermann from Bielefeld and the independent scientific advisory board of the Ministry of Finance both expressed doubts about the idea of using unused 4.9 billion euros lying at the KfW for the gas price brake in the budget for other purposes. The assessments of the project to pay loans instead of subsidies to the railway and the motorway company were less clear-cut.
Under certain conditions, this would be legally feasible, Hellermann explained. However, the scientific advisory board sees problems in both cases, as neither the railway nor the motorway might be able to repay the loan from their own income. The state-owned railway is already highly indebted, and the motorway company currently has no own income at all. This could be changed by law, Hellermann believes.
Lindner's ministry argued that the necessary reforms were complex, politically controversial, and not feasible before a budget decision. In the case of the railway, the problem could also be solved by a capital injection. Ultimately, there would still be a financing gap of around five billion euros, which would have to be filled by mid-August. Politicians from the SPD and the Greens accused him of sabotaging the budget agreement.
Despite the legal concerns raised by Federal Finance Minister Lindner, Federal Chancellor Scholz remains optimistic about strengthening the railway and motorway companies. According to Scholz, the legal assessment confirms that it's possible to utilize unused KfW credits for support, regardless of the controversy surrounding its use for other purposes in the budget.
In light of the budget dispute, The Green Group has been vocal in its accusations towards Finance Minister Lindner, alleging sabotage of the budget agreement due to his opposition to certain reforms and financing methods.
