The war in Ukraine has also shifted domestic priorities. Finance Minister Lindner wants to comply with the debt brake despite additional spending.
The financial risks of the Russia conflict and the announcement of higher defense spending are increasing the tug-of-war in the ongoing budget negotiations.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) announced that the 2022 federal budget would be weighted even more according to priorities. “The Ukraine war requires a stronger prioritization in the budget,” said Lindner of the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”. “This discussion about the distribution of the available funds within the federal government is naturally becoming even more ambitious because of the events in Ukraine.”
Lots of money for armament projects
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced on Sunday a “special fund” of 100 billion euros to strengthen Germany’s defense capabilities – “for necessary investments and armament projects”.
Lindner, who also heads the FDP, said: “The strengthening of defense spending also stimulates other ideas elsewhere. However, we are still aiming to limit new borrowing in the 2022 federal budget to the previously planned EUR 99.7 billion.” He added: “Compliance with the 2023 debt brake is and will remain a requirement of economic wisdom.”
The Greens parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge is slowing down: “In view of the current emergency, nobody can seriously predict whether the debt brake can be observed next year,” said the head of the coalition parliamentary group to the “Handelsblatt”. The Green financial politician Lisa Paus was even clearer there: “Everything needs to be put to the test – including a few old beliefs in financial policy, such as the debt brake”. And the SPD-Left Sebastian Roloff, co-chair of the Forum Democratic Left in the SPD (DL21), said: “The debt brake must go.”
Germans mostly for investment
The SPD chief householder Dennis Rohde attached importance to the fact that the additional defense expenditure should be financed by a special fund. «At the same time he will
The core budget is not burdened and the investments do not compete with questions of social and internal security,” he told the Rheinische Post.
The social policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Frank Bsirske, spoke out against higher military spending. The armaments budget has increased by more than a third since 2015. “If 50 billion euros in arms spending isn’t enough, the first thing you have to do is ask what’s going wrong, but not throw additional money,” he told Die Welt.
According to a survey, almost three quarters of Germans support the planned investment package for the Bundeswehr. According to a representative survey by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Wednesday), 74 percent of the 5060 respondents welcomed the announcement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). 19 percent think they are wrong. 7 percent answered undecided.
Source: Stern
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