Dispute over planning process: coalition committee does not reach agreement

Status: 01/26/2023 10:07 p.m

Should the construction of motorways also be prioritized through accelerated planning processes? The coalition committee did not reach an agreement on this issue in the evening. Afterwards there was only talk of “constructive talks”.

The deliberations of the coalition committee, which lasted several hours, ended in the evening without concrete decisions. The heads of the SPD, Greens and FDP came together to look for compromises in speeding up planning processes in the transport sector when implementing climate protection goals. “There were constructive talks on the subjects of transport and climate protection,” it said afterwards only from coalition circles. Negotiations will continue in the coming weeks.

“In fact, it must have been difficult talks,” reported ARD correspondent Oliver Sallet up tagesschau24. At its core is the ongoing dispute over the Planning Acceleration Act by Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP). “The expansion of the railways is to be accelerated here, but according to the will of the transport minister also the expansion of motorways. The Greens say that this violates the coalition agreement,” said Sallet. Both sides had gone “irreconcilably apart” on this issue, even after the coalition committee.

No comments after the deliberations

The coalition committee brings together the leaders of the parties and parliamentary groups headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (both Green) and Transport Minister Wissing were also present at the consultations in the Chancellery. None of the participants wanted to comment officially afterwards.

In addition to faster construction of roads and bridges, there should also be significantly more money for the renovation of the ailing railway network. The traffic light coalition has also been looking for months in vain for a solution as to how an immediate climate protection program announced in the coalition agreement can be launched. In it, the federal government wants to define how it intends to achieve the German climate goals. There is a big gap here, especially in traffic.

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