Vice Chancellor Habeck praises the traffic light budget compromise. But he draws attention to a longer-term problem.
After the coalition leaders reached an agreement on the 2025 budget, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck advises against further debates about a budget emergency to suspend the debt brake. “That debate has been had. I would not reopen it. I think that debate is over,” said the Green politician on ARD’s “Tagesthemen”. The draft budget should now be stuck with.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) reached a compromise on the federal budget on Friday night after long negotiations. The FDP was pleased that the debt brake was being adhered to. There were many cautious reactions to the agreement in the SPD and also among the Greens.
Habeck, on the other hand, spoke of a “very, very good package” and gave it a grade of 2+. However, he would only give it a grade of 3- for its implementation. The agreement will have an effect on the economy, climate protection and social justice. “We have to bring that together first, that’s not so bad.”
Habeck: Long-term financing of the Bundeswehr remains open
The Vice Chancellor admitted that the long-term financing of the Bundeswehr was not yet secured. “We’ll just about get by in 2025. After that, things will get tighter and tighter,” said Habeck. At some point, the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr will be used up. Then more money will be needed.
The goal of investing two percent of economic output in defense should remain. The financing to match this has not yet been found. “It is significantly greater than our problem of the last two or three days or last night,” said Habeck, making the scale clear. “I do not want to see cuts in education, research, culture and social services because of the Federal Republic of Germany’s defense capability.” This debate will have to be held in the future – probably in the next federal election campaign, said Habeck. It is about maintaining peace in Europe.
Before Melis Sekmen
These politicians have changed faction and party
Habeck admitted that there had been difficult moments in the talks with Scholz and Lindner. “Sometimes it gets harsh and rough, that has happened,” said the economics minister. The outside perspective helped. Habeck referred to the complicated formation of a government in France, the upcoming US presidential election and the war in Ukraine. “The world is not revolving around our small financial gap. We have to pull ourselves together here. We have to close it,” he stressed.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
