The mediation committee was also unable to resolve the dispute over the “Growth Opportunities Act”. The Union did not agree to a compromise offer from the traffic light government. A decision could now be made in the Federal Council at the end of March.
The future of the “Growth Opportunities Act” remains in limbo. The mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat adopted a compromise in the evening with the votes of the traffic light parties. However, since the Union did not agree, the necessary approval for the law by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner in the Bundesrat cannot be seen. Voting will take place there on March 22nd.
In order to pass the law, the traffic light coalition in the state chamber relies on votes from Union-led states. The Union recently made its approval dependent on the government reversing planned cuts in agricultural diesel.
Lindner throws Union attitude of refusal before
After the meeting, Federal Finance Minister Lindner accused the Union of refusing to do so. The German economy urgently needs stimulus. According to the Finance Minister, the CDU and CSU have refused the German economy’s call for a relief perspective and growth impulses. He hopes that there will be a rethink in the Union in the next few weeks.
“In the end there was a so-called false mediation result,” said the Union’s first parliamentary secretary, Thorsten Frei (CDU), explaining the decision that evening on ZDF. “That means a majority voted for this law, but this result suggests that there is still no majority for this law in the Federal Council.” That’s why discussions with the federal government must continue “on how to achieve comprehensive relief for the economy,” said Frei. “And that doesn’t just apply to the economy as a whole, but also to an important sector of the economy, namely agriculture.”
CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt criticized that it was a bad result without the consent of the Union. The opportunity to build a bridge was missed.
Further discussions are to follow
Federal Council President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said that the traffic light government had made it clear that it was in discussions with farmers to find common solutions. The states expected proposals by the Federal Council meeting on March 22nd. However, Dobrindt said he had no confidence that the traffic light would produce a substantial result with the farmers by then.
The Union’s Parliamentary Managing Director, Hendrik Hoppenstedt, who shares the chairmanship of the committee with Schwesig, said that the Union wants the cuts in agricultural diesel to be reversed: “If it can’t be agricultural diesel under any circumstances, then it is certainly at the traffic lights to make suggestions as to what equivalent compensation could look like.”
The Greens speak of “tactical games” by the Union
The Green Party’s parliamentary group vice-president, Andreas Audretsch, said that the Union had left the economy “out in the cold because of tactical games to raise its own profile. “I believe that the German economy will have no understanding whatsoever for this either,” said FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr. The Pressure on the CDU and CSU is now considerable.
The draft law was passed by the cabinet in August and by the Bundestag in November – but was subsequently stopped in the Bundesrat. The states demanded changes. Above all, they criticized the feared tax losses for the municipalities. Therefore, the law was now in the mediation committee. The committee was presented with a significantly slimmed-down version: instead of just under seven billion as originally planned, the law only provides for relief of around three billion euros, according to coalition circles.