Special funds: Draft: 60 billion infrastructure loans for municipalities

According to the will of the Ministry of Finance, a large part of the billion dollar loans promised to the countries to repair the infrastructure is to be used directly in the municipalities. In a draft law available to the German press agency, the Ministry proposes that at least 60 percent flow directly into the infrastructure of cities and municipalities. The countries themselves should determine the exact proportion – and take special consideration of the needs of financially weak municipalities.

The draft is currently being debated in the federal government and has not yet been decided by cabinet, Bundestag or Federal Council. So changes are still possible.

The federal states had previously agreed to divide the 100 billion euros promised by the federal government according to the Königstein key. What this means is also in the draft law: According to this, North Rhine-Westphalia would get the most money with around 21.1 billion, followed by Bavaria with 15.8 billion and Baden-Württemberg with a rounded 13.3 billion. Bremen would get just below one billion euros.

The funds are to be used, among other things, for investments in population protection, transport infrastructure, hospitals, energy and heating networks and daycare centers. They are part of the special pot of 500 billion euros planned by the new federal government. While the loans from the federal government may only be used for additional investments beyond the normal budget, fewer strict requirements are provided for countries and municipalities.