The budget committee is discussing the 2024 budget template in a reconciliation meeting. Repayments from the Federal Employment Agency are off the table – including suspending the debt brake. But not all decisions have been made yet.
The Bundestag Budget Committee began its final discussions on the federal budget for 2024 this morning. The meeting is expected to last until the evening. The so-called adjustment meeting is about the final changes to the budget draft, which should be finally passed in parliament by the beginning of February.
This was actually planned for the end of November. However, the Federal Constitutional Court had previously banned billions in Corona loans from being subsequently used for climate protection and modernization of the economy and from setting aside emergency loans for later years. This meant that the financial planning for the 2024 federal budget was in jeopardy because it was not constitutional.
According to this ruling, the traffic lights have to plug billions in holes. Accordingly, massive cuts are included in the Finance Ministry’s new budget proposal, which the Budget Committee is now discussing.
The Federal Employment Agency does not have to pay back any money
Even before the meeting began, it was announced that the factions of the governing parties SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed on changes to the federal budget. According to Green Party chief budget officer Sven-Christian Kindler, the Federal Employment Agency does not have to make a payment of 1.5 billion euros to the federal budget in 2024.
The reason is better annual financial statements in the 2023 federal budget – which creates financial flexibility. Specifically, the withdrawal from the reserve should be increased. Kindler also referred to constitutional concerns. “We take these concerns seriously.”
The federal government actually wanted some of its billions in subsidies to the federal agency from the Corona period back. A total of 5.2 billion euros should flow back to Berlin in four years from 2024. This met with massive criticism from the Federal Agency. In a hearing of the budget committee, experts spoke of a “misuse of emergency loans”.
Union chief budget officer Haase: “patchwork”
The Union’s chief budget officer, Christian Haase, spoke of a “patchwork”. A new amendment was hastily introduced overnight in order to put the brakes on the next constitutionally dubious operation in the budget of the Federal Employment Agency.
The Union labor market expert Stephan Stracke said: “Unfortunately, the grip on social security funds continues unabated elsewhere.” When it comes to pension insurance, the traffic light wants to “arbitrarily” save a total of 4.8 billion euros.
Higher reserves from the previous year
Kindler said that the surpluses from the 2023 budget should also be used to finance aid for victims of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. The federal government spent billions less than planned last year. As a result, the withdrawal from the reserve will be reduced by 6.3 billion euros, as the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday in Berlin at the preliminary budget conclusion. The funds should help finance additional burdens in the 2024 federal budget.
In the 2024 federal budget, 2.7 billion euros in aid are planned for victims of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. The federal government had examined whether the debt brake should be suspended again. But according to Kindler, that is now off the table. However, the debt brake could be suspended later in the year – namely if significantly more money is needed to support Ukraine than is currently foreseeable.
200 million euros for the BAMF
At its meeting, the Budget Committee already agreed on additional money for the Ministry of the Interior, which should flow to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Funds of around 200 million euros are therefore planned. The Federal Office will be strengthened with additional staff and investments will also be made in IT equipment for faster processing of asylum applications, said Thorsten Lieb, the rapporteur responsible for the FDP.
The Budget Committee also set aside 95 million euros for the expansion of the central register of foreigners. “The need for new skilled workers for our economy and the increasing number of asylum applications are pushing the migration administration to its capacity limits,” explained Lieb. In the coming months, the Central Register of Foreigners is to be converted into a central, cross-agency platform.
Results will be presented tomorrow
During the meeting there could be further changes compared to the Finance Ministry’s submission. This provides for austerity measures, especially in the climate and transformation fund. Cuts are also planned in other places. These include gradual cuts in agricultural diesel for farms.
Funds for development aid and humanitarian aid as well as for numerous climate protection projects will also be cut. To improve revenue, the CO2 price was increased more at the beginning of the year than previously planned. The parliamentary groups want to explain the results of the committee deliberations in several press conferences on Friday.
Michael Weidemann, tagesschau, January 18, 2024 3:14 p.m