In view of the tense budget situation, the federal government must increasingly prepare for distribution battles.
(Photo: Stefan Boness/Ipon)
Berlin Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner expects difficult budget negotiations in the coming years. The general conditions would tighten in the second half of the decade, the FDP chairman was quoted as saying in the new monthly report from the Ministry of Finance, which is to be published on Thursday.
Then the 100 billion euro special fund to strengthen the Bundeswehr will expire. In addition, the repayment of additional loans from the Corona crisis must then begin. “For the years from 2025 onwards, we have to identify a budgetary need for action of around five billion euros.”
The traffic light government was only able to agree on a draft budget for next year after months of negotiations, and there are still gaps in the medium-term financial planning.
The draft budget will be discussed in the Bundestag from September. Lindner said the budget will now be consolidated. But it is not an austerity budget. Federal spending would be even higher than before the crisis years of the pandemic.
According to Lindner, Germany has lost a great deal of its competitiveness in recent years. “Just as we have neglected the Bundeswehr, we have also neglected our site conditions.” That is why everything must now be done for more economic growth.
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