The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to ionising radiation.
Leaders of the SPD, Greens, and FDP have been discussing in confidential talks for days a remaining financing gap of five billion euros, according to the finance ministry. The revised draft budget is expected to be forwarded to the Bundestag and Bundesrat by the end of the week, according to the current schedule.
The first session week of the Bundestag after the summer break begins on September 9. From then on, the budget plan is to be discussed in parliament. Vice-government spokesman Büchner did not want to say when the deadline for submitting the budget draft expires. However, he assumes that it will be "finished in time". Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) did not comment on the budget at a discussion event at Lake Constance in the morning.
The deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Achim Post, expects a timely agreement. "The federal government is working intensively to close the remaining gap of four to five billion euros," Post told the Funke media group's newspapers on Wednesday. With the "common will of all three coalition partners", this is a feasible task. "Therefore, I expect a timely agreement."
Subsequently, the budget draft will be submitted to parliamentary deliberations. "In the negotiations until the adoption at the end of November, the SPD will prioritize strengthening external, internal, and social security," Post added.
There was a proposal from the FDP parliamentary group for a blanket reduction in all departments. "The blanket reduction of 1.5 percent across all departments is a possible solution that can be discussed," the deputy chairman of the parliamentary group, Christoph Meyer, told the "Bild" newspaper on Wednesday.
The FDP continues to see potential savings in the social sector. Despite massive criticism, the liberals insist on their demand for cuts to the citizen's income. Objections from the Federal Ministry of Labor that this is legally impossible were dismissed by the FDP's social expert Pascal Kober. Then the law would have to be changed, he told the "Bild" newspaper on Wednesday.
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr recently called for a reduction of 14 to 20 euros per month. The rates are currently too high, he said. For the calculation, a higher inflation rate was used than has actually occurred.
Finance Minister Lindner agreed with his parliamentary group leader. He is in favor of everything for citizen's income recipients, "but the citizen's income is financed by the taxpayer," said Lindner. The social benefit of the state must reflect the socio-economic subsistence minimum, so that no one in Germany is in existential need. But the rule is that people work for their living expenses. This is a matter of responsibility towards taxpayers.
The FDP has already repeatedly called for cuts to the citizen's income. The SPD and Greens reject this, as do social associations and trade unions.
I'm not expecting the FDP to back down on their demand for cuts to the citizen's income. This discussion has been ongoing for quite some time.
Despite being pressed about the budget, Finance Minister Lindner remained tight-lipped, stating that the citizen's income, while important, should reflect the socio-economic subsistence minimum and not be a burden on taxpayers.
