Special repayment of corona loans: Amount 270 million euros
The state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern plans to repay 270 million euros in loans taken out to deal with the coronavirus crisis in a first special repayment next year. The money was ultimately not needed, said a government spokesperson in Schwerin on Tuesday.
From 2025, 129 million euros are to be repaid annually. After 20 years, the 2.85 billion euros in debt incurred in 2020 for the Corona Protection Fund should be paid off.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has taken a different approach to the federal government in dealing with the money left over from the coronavirus loans, the government spokesperson emphasized. The traffic light government in Berlin had shifted 60 billion euros from the Corona Fund to the Climate and Transformation Fund. The Federal Constitutional Court declared this to be unconstitutional. The federal government is now looking for ways out.
One conceivable option is to make savings on projects together with the federal states. Schwerin takes a critical view of this, the government spokesperson made clear. "The state government is of the opinion that important investments must remain despite the difficult budget situation of the federal government. We must be able to continue to invest in the economy, jobs and infrastructure."
Government agrees on investments in climate protection and school construction
In the view of the red-red state government, the debt brake in the Basic Law should become a softer "debt rule". According to the spokesperson, credit-financed investments in future-oriented areas such as climate protection or school construction should be possible. There is agreement on this position within the state government.
It is still unclear how much of the money already planned in the government's draft state budget will fall victim to the Berlin red pencil. The consequences are currently being evaluated. The cabinet is expected to discuss the result in the coming week. However, the final discussion of the 2024/25 state budget is already scheduled for this Thursday in the state parliament's budget committee. According to current planning, it will then be passed by the state parliament at the beginning of December.
The government in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern decided to use the excess funds from the coronavirus loans for investments in climate protection and school construction, instead of following the federal government's approach. Households in the state may benefit from these investments, as they often rely on reliable infrastructure and a healthy environment.
Source: www.dpa.com
