It is the largest aid package that has ever been decided in Germany after a flood: after the flood of the century in July last year, politicians promised to provide 30 billion euros, two billion from the federal government for certain infrastructure, 28 billion each half from the federal and state governments – the federal government advances the money first. The two most damaged federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate should not be left alone. And funds were also made available for Saxony and Bavaria, for which almost 1.5 percent of the sum is available due to the relatively low damage.
A year later, however, the balance is sobering: only a small part of the 30 billion was paid out. According to information from Süddeutsche Zeitung only a total of 1.17 billion euros have flowed to the four affected federal states. This emerges from a list by the Ministry of the Interior at the request of the Left Group. For example, only just under 410 million euros have so far been paid out from the pot intended to help private households and housing companies affected by the floods get back on their feet. So far, around 150 million euros have been paid out by the federal government to the states for the self-employed, commercial companies and members of the liberal professions.
Some of the funding pots have not yet been accessed – in the table there is always a zero after the payments. For example, with money to repair damage to cultural institutions and cultural monuments and to save archives. “There is an almost inexcusable disparity between the billions available and the aid that has been given so far,” says Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the Left Party parliamentary group. He believes that the sluggishness of the reconstruction is destroying the trust of those affected in politics.
The federal government itself lacks information
The federal government has signaled that it lacks information about how the money will be used. The framework conditions were created, but the specific implementation is the responsibility of the federal states, according to the Interior Ministry. It is not known how much of these funds from the special fund “Aufbauhilfe 2021” reached those affected. You also have “no knowledge of how much municipal and state infrastructure has already been restored”.
So what are the countries saying? According to the latter, an important reason for the sluggish flow of money from the federal government to the states is the advance payment: the state governments first spend money and then later get it back from the federal government – so it is not immediately deducted from the 30 billion. North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, is entitled to around a third of the aid package, and the most populous federal state has a total of 12.3 billion euros in aid money at its disposal. According to the Ministry for Homeland, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitization in Düsseldorf, a total of around 1.6 billion euros in development aid was being paid out at the end of July. In NRW, people are a long way from the amount available.
And even if money is in the process of being paid out, that does not mean that it has actually arrived in the applicant’s accounts. For a long time it was too complicated for many of those affected to apply for help. The responsible NRW building ministry improved – on the anniversary of the flood the responsible minister Ina Scharrenbach (CDU) announced that now “it runs smoothly”. And once an application has been successfully checked, it only takes about nine days on average in NRW for the money to be transferred.
Reconstruction is often still in the planning phase
However, it also becomes confusing when it comes to the reconstruction of schools, kindergartens and other municipal building measures. Much of this is still in the planning phase. “A large part has not yet started,” says a press spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior of Rhineland-Palatinate. Each district has to create its own action plan – that takes time. Money would usually only be paid out if there was proof of building material. The majority of the construction measures are therefore still ahead of the state. The federal government has earmarked 15 billion for Rhineland-Palatinate, but the state has only spent a total of around one billion. This is also reflected in the situation that shows current pictures of the Ahr Valley. There is still a state of emergency in many places.
But the reconstruction could not be pushed faster in many places – regardless of the bureaucracy. The ministries of the affected countries report that the current situation in the construction industry is impeding progress: the attack on Ukraine is causing more and more material and delivery bottlenecks. In addition, craft businesses in the region are very busy. And there is also a lack of staff at other ends. In Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, there are still bottlenecks among experts who assess insurance damage. In North Rhine-Westphalia, only about a quarter of the 280 additional jobs created in the administration that the state had created specifically for reconstruction aid could be filled.
For the victims of the flood – 65,000 people affected in Rhineland-Palatinate, 180 affected cities and communities in North Rhine-Westphalia – these are additional hurdles. And the federal states have organized info points, town meetings and mobile teams to help those affected get the money. But many, as can be observed in the advice centers of the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Center, are frustrated and disappointed. And it is difficult to understand how many private individuals, entrepreneurs and self-employed people have problems filling out the applications or do not take advantage of the options at all.
However, there are concrete new figures on the condition of the roads and rails destroyed by the floods. In North Rhine-Westphalia, 42 kilometers of federal roads were repaired. In Rhineland-Palatinate, 40 kilometers of federal highway were closed after the flood, currently there are only about 600 meters. And the train routes are also looking good: According to Deutsche Bahn AG, more than 510 kilometers of track, over 140 level crossings and dams, 50 traffic stations and 14 bridges have been cleaned, repaired, renewed or completely rebuilt. Trains are now running again on more than 85 percent of the railway lines destroyed by the floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.