government
The Federal Cabinet decides on the draft budget for 2023
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) during the Federal Cabinet meeting in the Chancellery. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
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The Federal Minister of Finance is satisfied with the draft budget that has now been approved for the coming year – but there are also cautious voices among the coalition partners of the traffic light.
The federal cabinet approved the government draft for the 2023 federal budget on Friday. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wrote on Twitter. This means that after three years the federal government is again entitled to operate within the debt brake of the Basic Law. Lindner spoke of an important contribution to combating inflation.
According to the draft, in order to be able to comply with the debt brake, the federal government should use the billion-dollar reserve more than previously planned. The debt brake allows only a small amount of borrowing.
The budget spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Dennis Rohde, said: “We provide security in global crises, continue to invest at record levels in the future viability of our country and at the same time ensure stable state finances.” Rohde continued: “But we are also aware that many unknown variables are still waiting for us until autumn: the consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, a possible further wave of the corona pandemic, high inflation and the interest rate turnaround.” All these points would have to be reassessed again and again in the budget negotiations.
There are voices in the SPD and Greens who question compliance with the debt issue due to the consequences of the Ukraine war, rising energy prices and necessary investments in the energy transition, for example.