Household - State parliament holds final debate on state budget: 451 amendments
The state parliament in Schwerin will hold its final debate on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's double budget for 2024 and 2025 on Wednesday (10.00 a.m.), with MPs facing a marathon voting session at the start of the last sitting week of the year. According to the state parliament administration, a total of 451 amendments to the red-red state government's draft budget have been submitted. Around 13 hours have been set aside for discussion and voting.
According to the coalition's plans, expenditure of around 11 billion euros is planned for each of the next two years. Additional spending is planned for schools and daycare centres, local authorities and investments in infrastructure and digitalization, among other things. Personnel expenditure will rise to record levels and continue to approach the 3 billion euro mark annually.
Nevertheless, no new debts are to be incurred. However, the state will have to draw on its reserves to cover the high expenditure. The controversial MV protection fund to deal with the coronavirus crisis, for which loans amounting to 2.85 billion euros were approved, is to be dissolved early and a special repayment of around half a billion euros made.
The CDU had called for the adoption of the double budget to be postponed until the beginning of 2024 in view of the risks on the federal side. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is expecting federal grants of around 700 million euros in the coming years. A large proportion of these funds will be used to develop the hydrogen economy. However, as the traffic light government in Berlin has not yet found a solution as to how it can close the billion euro gap in the federal budget, it is still unclear to what extent federal funds for the energy transition or transport projects will flow to the federal states.
Despite the difficult federal budget situation, the red-red coalition in Schwerin wants to pass the state budget. It sees this as an important signal to local authorities, companies and the population. An approved budget guarantees planning security and demonstrates the ability to act, it said. The opposition has already complained about the wrong priorities in the draft budget and made additional demands for education, the police and the care sector, among others.
Timetable for the state parliament session with links to laws and motions Medium-term financial planning with tables
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The state parliament in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is set to spend significant amounts on digitalization as part of the double budget. Despite the numerous amendments, the red-red coalition in Schwerin is determined to pass the budget, acknowledging its importance for planning security and demonstrating the ability to act. The opposition parties have expressed concerns about the prioritization of funds and have made additional demands, particularly for education, the police, and the care sector. The adoption of the budget is crucial, as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern relies on federal grants for developing the hydrogen economy, with some uncertainty surrounding the federal budget situation.
Source: www.stern.de
