The German government has adopted a first draft for the 2024 budget following days of public clashes, leaving parliament members to continue fighting over budgetary lines for political projects like parental leave and the green transition.
Not everyone in government is pleased with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s push for less spending. “This is not the time for wishes but for change. Not everything that is politically popular can be financed,” said Lindner, surfacing months of budgetary trench warfare.
A fight over cuts to state-sponsored parental leave for households earning more than €150,000 a year had already seen government MPs clash publicly, as they had started leaking internal letters on social media.
The announcement that most ministries would have their budgets cut also added fuel to the fire.
“The budget negotiations took place under difficult circumstances,” admitted Economy and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck. His ministry will face a budget cut of €4 billion – largely due to energy crisis-related expenditures going down. Financing for floating LNG terminals will be upheld.
However, more negotiations on the budget are set to follow, particularly as the budgetary committee recently signalled its ambition to make changes.
“Until the end of November, we in the Bundestag will work intensively on the draft budget and improve it,” said Sven-Christian Kindler, a green MP in charge of budgetary policy.
Still, Habeck and Kindler managed to successfully defend the regional catch-up funds from cuts – a move also welcomed by workers at PCK Schwedt, an oil refinery formerly linked to Russia.
(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | EURACTIV.de)
Read more with EURACTIV
Belgium condemned for misconduct in managing asylum crisis
Source: euractiv.com
