The ministries’ budgets for 2024 are largely in place. Among other things, there is more money for voluntary services, BAföG and integration courses. The traffic light was also able to reach agreement on parental allowance. However, the final decision is still pending.
The Budget Committee in the Bundestag has concluded the substantive discussions on the federal budget for the coming year. However, the bill has not yet been passed. The so-called cleanup meeting began yesterday afternoon and lasted until the early hours of the morning.
This year, however, the deliberations were overshadowed by the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling on state finances. The court canceled 60 billion euros in unconstitutionally transferred loans to the government. Since the impact on the 2024 budget is unclear, the Union had called for the meeting to be postponed. The traffic light coalition rejected the application yesterday. In protest, the CDU and CSU decided not to submit their own applications.
Final decision on Thursday
Because many questions remain unanswered after the verdict, an expert hearing will take place next Tuesday, explained the budget experts from the traffic light factions. The cleanup meeting is scheduled to formally end next Thursday.
Only then will information be available about how much new debt the federal government will take on in the coming year and how much money will be spent overall. In his draft, Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) assumed new debt of 16.6 billion euros. According to Lindner, the deteriorating economic outlook has now increased the scope for debt by a further 5.5 billion euros.
However, the coalition does not believe that the core budget for the coming year, i.e. the budgets of the individual ministries, will be affected by the Constitutional Court’s ruling. The individual items of the budget have therefore largely been completed.
700 million euros more for humanitarian aid
Among other things, the funds were for humanitarian aid abroad increased. Compared to the government’s plans, there should be 700 million euros more. According to Left Party MP Victor Perli, there is still significantly less money available than this year.
Funding was also increased Integration courses and advisory services for immigrants. Instead of the originally planned 880 million euros, 1.06 billion euros were budgeted.
Fight against anti-Semitism
The committee stalled by 100 million euros Funds for supporting Jewish life in Germany and Europe and the fight against anti-Semitism. “We have a mission to make Jewish life in Germany and the world safer,” said a statement from the coalition’s budget experts.
The supported measures range from prevention work among young people, support for Jewish communities and their synagogues in Germany, grants to associations fighting anti-Semitism, and youth projects in the culture of remembrance.
Parental allowance reform is coming gradually
The highly controversial cap on parental allowance for high-income earners is now less radical. The income limit up to which parental allowance is paid should not fall suddenly, but gradually.
Nothing is expected to change until the end of March. After that, the limit falls to 200,000 euros of taxable annual income. From April 2025, an income limit of 175,000 euros will apply. What has now also changed is that parents can only receive parental allowance for one month at the same time. At least one of the partner months must be taken alone. This must also happen within the child’s first year of life.
Ukraine aid and electricity tax reduction
Lindner’s ministry had made other changes itself: in the template for the committee meeting Military aid to Ukraine doubled to eight billion euros.
In addition, after the traffic light agreement, around 1.3 billion euros were added to a relief package Grants for electricity-intensive companies planned. However, the reduction in electricity tax for the manufacturing sector, which was also decided to provide relief, will be more expensive than expected.
The traffic light coalition expects costs of 3.25 billion euros for 2024 and 2025. This emerges from a draft of the budget financing law, which is available to the dpa news agency. When the concept was presented, government circles said it would cost 2.75 billion euros.
More funds for BAföG and Voluntary services
They should be for students and pupils BAföG funds be increased by an additional 150 million euros. In addition, the budgetary conditions for an urgently needed BAföG structural reform would be created, explained Green Party politician Bruno Hönel. “We need this reform in order to bring a higher number of students at risk of poverty into BAföG and to improve the financial conditions for BAföG recipients in the long term,” explained Hönel.
The planned cuts in the Voluntary services The budget holders in the Bundestag have almost completely withdrawn it. According to information from the dpa, they increased the financing for 2024 by 80 million euros. 53 million of this comes from the Federal Voluntary Service.
Overall, Family Minister Lisa Paus’s budget is to be increased by almost 230 million euros. Your budget is “central to our democratic and social coexistence,” said Green Party chief budget officer Sven-Christian Kindler. Voluntary engagement is systemically relevant.
The budget is to be approved by the Bundestag on December 1st.