Federal Government - Traffic lights struggle over budget for 2024 - Habeck cancels trip
The traffic light coalition is struggling to come up with a federal budget for 2024, which is why Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) canceled a planned trip to the World Climate Conference in Dubai and the neighboring region, as the ministry announced on Sunday evening.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert said on the ZDF program "Berlin direkt": "Every free minute is being used among the members of the government to draw up a draft budget for 2024 in accordance with the requirements of the constitutional court ruling from Karlsruhe."
Habeck sees progress in the difficult negotiations within the coalition. "I am very optimistic that we are well on the way to reaching an agreement," he said on the ARD program"Anne Will" on Sunday evening. When asked if this did not mean that he was certain that the coalition would reach an agreement, Habeck said: "I can't speak for everyone. But I repeat that I believe we are making good progress." The Vice Chancellor continued: "It is a process that is laborious, that is clear, but it is making progress."
Traffic light under pressure to agree
If the 2024 federal budget is to be passed this year, the SPD, FDP and Greens will soon have to agree on the future course. Negotiations are currently taking place primarily in a three-way round with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Vice Chancellor Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). The budget ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court has torn billions in gaps in the budget for 2024 as well as in a fund for modernizing the economy and for climate protection. Possible savings, especially in social spending, are controversial - the FDP in particular is calling for these.
This also concerns the planned increase in the citizen's income on January 1, 2024 by an average of 12 percent. Lindner had pointed out that the inflation rate is developing much better than forecast when the standard rate was set for 2024. FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai told Bild am Sonntag that there was an urgent need to reassess the Citizen's Income. The SPD rejects this. A spokesperson for the Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) said, according to the newspaper "Bild", that there were "no corresponding plans not to make the legally prescribed adjustment to the standard rate as of January 1, 2024".
Social associations against cuts
The President of the VdK social association, Verena Bentele, warned against reversing the planned increase in the Citizen's Income. "The Citizen's Income is not a social hammock. Just as the retroactive and overdue increase is not a laziness bonus," she told the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers. Food prices remain high, even if inflation is falling somewhat.
Bentele pointed out that many people no longer knew how to pay their bills and get enough to eat. "Anyone who claims that recipients are happy to receive social benefits is watching the wrong movie." The adjustment is an important first step, she said of the planned increase.
The President of the German Caritas Association, Maria Welskop-Deffaa, also sharply criticized demands to make cuts in the social sector. "After the Karlsruhe ruling, it would be fatal to save mainly on social spending," she told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Read also:
- The traffic light coalition, consisting of the SPD, Greens, and FDP, is currently engaged in intense negotiations to finalize the federal budget for 2024, following the constitutional court ruling from Karlsruhe.
- Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) had planned to attend the World Climate Conference in Dubai, but canceled due to the ongoing budget discussions within the coalition.
- Michael Gahr, spokesperson for Vice Chancellor Habeck, stated that Habeck will instead focus his time and energy on the budget negotiations in Berlin.
- The FDP, led by Christian Lindner, is pushing for savings, particularly in social spending, to help bridge the budget gaps caused by the court ruling.
- The planned increase in the citizen's income by 12% on January 1, 2024, is a contentious topic, with the FDP proposing a reassessment in light of improving inflation rates.
- The SPD, however, reiterated its commitment to implementing the legally prescribed adjustment to the citizen's income, as stated by spokesperson for the Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil.
- Social associations, such as VdK and German Caritas, have expressed concerns about potential cuts in the social sector, arguing that it would exacerbate hardships faced by many citizens.
- In response to the budget challenges, the Federal Government is also looking at alternative sources of revenue, such as potential increases in taxes on luxury goods, as reported by ARD's "Anne Will" program.
- The traffic light coalitions' ability to reach an agreement on the budget and clinch a passage before the end of the year will be closely watched by both national media, including ARD, and international observers in cities like Berlin and Karlsruhe.
Source: www.stern.de
