Status: 09/10/2021 1:29 p.m.
The relief fund for victims of the flood disaster in mid-July has been finalized. After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat also approved. A total of up to around 30 billion euros is to be paid out for the reconstruction.
The way for the billions in aid for reconstruction in the flood regions in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia is clear: The Federal Council approved the law for the fund, which provides for funds of up to 30 billion euros.
The federal states are to contribute half of the repayment of the aid money by assigning a portion of the sales tax revenue to the federal government by 2050. The Bundestag had already approved the law on Tuesday.
The money is intended to benefit damaged private households, companies and other institutions and to restore the infrastructure. The reconstruction of federal infrastructure, such as federal highways, is financed separately by the federal government.
Reconstruction as a “Herculean task”
The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) described the reconstruction of the affected regions as a “Herculean task”. The law resolution is a “very important signal” that people will not forget. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) said that in some places a reconstruction effort had to be carried out as after the Second World War.
According to an ordinance also approved by the Federal Council, the funds are initially distributed using a fixed key based on the first damage surveys of the countries concerned. According to this, Rhineland-Palatinate accounts for 54.53 percent and North Rhine-Westphalia for 43.99 percent of the funds earmarked for the state programs.
Insolvency obligation remains suspended
Bavaria (1.00 percent) and Saxony (0.48 percent), where there had also recently been damage from storms, also have a lower share – but with significantly less impact than in the two western German states. Once the final amount of damage has been determined in the federal states, a federal-state agreement with an adjusted distribution key follows.
In order to prevent a wave of bankruptcies, the obligation to file for insolvency will be suspended until the end of January 2022 for companies that are in financial distress due to the flood – as long as the companies concerned are conducting “serious financing or restructuring negotiations” and thus have justified prospects Renovation exist.
Up to 30 billion euros for victims of the flood disaster
Martin Polansky, ARD Berlin, 9/10/2021 3:41 p.m.