There was a long argument in the traffic light, now the draft budget for 2024 is available. The Finance Minister wants to spend 445.7 billion euros, the new debt should be 16.6 billion euros. There is likely to be a funding gap for the coming years.
The Ministry of Finance intends to follow a strict budgetary course in the coming years. Expenditures and measures must be prioritized, potential savings identified and implemented, according to agency reports from Minister Christian Lindner’s department.
Despite consolidation measures, there is a budgetary “need for action” totaling 14.4 billion euros in the years 2025 to 2027. So this money needs to be saved.
The federal government had struggled for a long time to draw up the federal budget for 2024. This is now to be adopted by the cabinet on Wednesday. The new debt should be 16.6 billion euros in 2024 – and thus the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law will be observed.
According to the draft, expenditure would have to drop significantly to 445.7 billion euros. With a view to the corona pandemic and the energy crisis, it was said that after the additional income caused by the crisis, “normality” in financial policy should be returned. It was possible to close a coverage gap of 20 billion euros in the draft, the Ministry of Finance said. But one cannot speak of a “string concert”.
All departments are to make savings – to varying degrees, with the exception of the Ministry of Defence. In 2024, some ministries are even expected to get by with less money than previously planned in the medium-term financial plan.
Little scope for social issues
Originally, the departments would have had significantly higher spending requests. In the coming years, priority will be given to the task areas of defence, digitization and climate protection. At the same time, with a view to social spending, for example, it was said that more and more funds were tied up and the scope was becoming smaller and smaller.
Two billion euros are estimated for 2025 to finance the planned basic child security. That is significantly less than the twelve billion euros that Family Minister Lisa Paus had called for. In the coalition, there is still a need for clarification on basic child security.