Finances: Special funds for countries: Where do 100 billion go?

It is about 100 billion euros: The Federal Cabinet has launched a draft law to implement the special fund for infrastructure and climate protection so that countries can invest significantly more. Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) said in Berlin that the federal government strengthened the ability to act of the federal states and municipalities. However, there is criticism of the plans. Associations fear that the majority of the funds will not be received by the cities and municipalities, where they are most urgently needed. On the train are now the Bundestag and the Federal Council.

Share of special funds

The federal states should receive 100 billion euros of the total of 500 billion euros in special funds for additional investments in the infrastructure and climate protection. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, investments can be financed if they were not started before January 1, 2025. Measures could be approved by the end of 2036.

The federal funds should be used “quickly, flexibly and targeted”, as stated in the draft law – in areas such as traffic infrastructure, education, population protection, hospitals, digitization or energy infrastructure. The federal states are intended to provide the federal government an overview of the use of federal funds once a year. If funds should be used in no use, funds should be reclaimed.

The Department of Finance at the beginning of June provided that at least 60 percent of the funds for the federal states go to the municipalities. However, this quote no longer appears in the design decided by the cabinet. Criticism came from the German District Council. “This would remain the central signal that most of the funds should arrive where they are urgently needed. That would be a slap in the face of cities, counties and municipalities,” said Hans-Günter Henneke, the managing director of the German District Day. The countries would get a “power power”, which in the past unfortunately has not been reliably exercised in favor of the municipal level.

A spokesman Klingbeils said that the federal government had accommodated the countries. The countries would have said that they could best decide that with the municipalities.

Construction economy expresses doubts

The cabinet design no longer appears that it should be additional investment measures. This is also a result of negotiations between the federal and state governments, according to the spokesman for Klingbeil. The countries wanted to be able to decide themselves.

“We cannot understand why the so-called additionalness was deleted from the law and should no longer apply to the federal states,” said Tim-Oliver Müller, general manager of the construction industry. “With the result that some federal states are already shortening their regular investment sets and filling the gap from the special fund with the means.” This procedure was not conveyed to the citizens.

The cabinet also decided to have a bill to implement the already decided reform of the debt brake – according to the federal government, the federal states also received the possibilities of a debt area of ​​0.35 percent of the gross domestic product. The countries should get larger scope for action.