The traffic light government wants to comply with the debt brake next year – at least for the time being. This was announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) at a joint press conference.
Savings had to be made in the budget talks. “We don’t like to do that, but it’s necessary,” said Scholz. “We have to make do with significantly less money to achieve our goals.” The first point Scholz mentioned was the reduction of climate-damaging subsidies. According to Finance Minister Lindner, this should bring in three billion euros. The CO₂ price for refueling and heating is also expected to rise.
The climate and transformation fund should therefore remain in place, but the pot should be reduced by twelve billion euros. Finance Minister Lindner assured that there would be no cuts in “social standards”. However, he indicated that the welfare state wanted to become more efficient. They want to save 1.5 billion euros by integrating refugees from Ukraine into the labor market.
However, the traffic light explicitly keeps the back doors open in the budget, which the debt brake law allows them: in emergencies such as the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley in 2022, debts will be taken on above the brake. The situation will also be reassessed in the event that the situation on the front in Ukraine worsens.
On Tuesday morning it became clear: After tough negotiations, the traffic light leaders agreed on the 2024 federal budget. The discussions were complicated because, according to Finance Minister Lindner, 17 billion euros were missing. Lindner said: “This coalition is capable of acting and reaching agreement, even on very difficult tasks.” Chancellor Scholz also praised the discussions as constructive and familiar.
When drawing up the budget for 2024, the focus was on how it should be adjusted following the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling on budget management and special funds. The main point of contention was the question of whether, in addition to budget savings, the debt brake should also be suspended for 2024.
The coalition committee is scheduled to meet this Wednesday afternoon. Chancellor Scholz will also make a government statement at midday – you can also see this in the live stream on SZ.de.