Press
The budget for 2025 is to be approved by the cabinet in mid-July. The road to this goal is taking a while, but smaller measures are said to already be in place.
Berlin – There does not seem to be any quick agreement in sight in the budget talks of the traffic light coalition. According to government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, the negotiators want to continue to discuss the budget for 2025 “in the next few days”. The aim is still to reach a decision in the cabinet on July 17, said Hebestreit.
However, this would apparently require a political agreement this week, as the Finance Ministry still has to translate it into a draft that is ready for adoption. “Today is Monday, the week is still long,” said Hebestreit.
Results in the budget dispute: Minor measures already approved
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (The Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) have been wrangling for weeks in three-way talks about how to plug a billion-euro gap in the budget for the coming year. They meet almost daily, including at weekends.
After all, “a large number of smaller measures” have already been approved, reported FocusOnline on Sunday, citing information from “well-informed Berlin circles.” A “dynamization package” is planned, which should be introduced in two weeks at the latest. This will include “relief of bureaucracy, work incentives and tax measures.”
Traffic light agreement made difficult – SPD members’ petition calls for investments instead of cuts
However, the potential for conflict remains high: demands from the parties are putting the negotiators under pressure. Just on Monday, the SPD leadership declared a member request from the left-wing party group “Forum Democratic Left 21” inadmissible. It demands that the SPD should only agree to the new budget if the planned finances for the areas of social affairs, health, youth, family, education, democracy and development cooperation are not cut compared to the previous year’s budget.
Instead, the federal government should invest more in affordable housing, sustainable infrastructure, strong municipalities and ambitious climate protection. For example, the federal government plans to increase spending on Citizens’ allowance and job centers by a total of 2.5 billion euros, according to a letter from the State Working Group on Employment.
A “corset” for the budget is to be in place by the NATO summit
But the mood is not only heated on the SPD side: the “Young Group” within the FDP parliamentary group has also threatened the party leadership in the context of the budget negotiations. Its 30 members want to turn their backs on the traffic light coalition if Finance Minister Lindner drops the debt brake.
Government spokesman Hebestreit, however, was confident that there would at least be a “corset”, i.e. a political understanding, by the time of the NATO summit next week. At the same time, he referred to the Chancellor’s government questioning in the Bundestag on Wednesday. “The issue could certainly play a role there too. Otherwise, you have to know what’s going on before you talk about it.” (dpa/ses)
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