A “Special Fund for the Federal Armed Forces” outside the federal budget is intended to enable additional expenditure of 100 billion euros for rapid rearmament.
(Photo: imago/Eckehard Schulz)
The terrible Russian war of aggression in the Ukraine, coupled with the fear that Germany could be left bare in the event of a defense, prompted the Federal Government to rethink its armament policy within a very short space of time.
Already in the current year, the two-percent target for defense expenditures in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), which has been missed for a long time, is to be achieved. For rapid rearmament, a “Special Fund for the Federal Armed Forces” outside the federal budget is intended to enable additional credit-financed expenditure of 100 billion euros for armaments projects in the next few years.
Because it is not possible to take out such large additional loans within the framework of the constitutional debt brake, the constitution is now to be amended accordingly.
One can praise the determination and the undogmatic pragmatism of the FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner in terms of financial policy and dealing with the debt brake. He already showed such pragmatism with the supplementary budget for 2021, in which, with reference to the corona exemption from the debt brake, unused credit authorizations of 60 billion euros from 2021 were used to fill the climate and transformation fund (KTF).
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From this, climate-related expenditure will then be made and investments will be promoted in the next few years. Unfortunately, the pragmatism doesn’t go with the verbal strictness with which he otherwise adheres to the debt brake: in 2023, it should again apply strictly and without exception as a symbol of solidity.
Dishonest adherence to the debt brake
He may consider the severity shown by Lindner to be necessary in view of the FDP clientele. However, she is dishonest. Because even if the federal government were to formally return to the debt brake in 2023 and in the years that followed, the traffic light coalition would de facto take on debts in the double-digit billions for a few years that are actually compatible with the debt brake.
Achim Truger is a member of the Advisory Council for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development and Professor of Government Activities and Public Finances at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
(Photo: imago images/Political Moments)
Firstly, this would be done via the KTF to promote climate protection investments and secondly now also via the “Bundeswehr Special Fund” for rearmament. Because the special funds will be provided with credit authorizations in 2022, which will then only be used in the following years outside of the debt brake for higher loans.
The fact that, after the supplementary budget, an amendment to the Basic Law is now also considered necessary in order to be able to take out the necessary loans, is nothing more than an oath of disclosure on the debt brake, because it was intended to exclude new loan-financed special funds since 2010.
As predicted by critics, the debt brake is finally proving to be unable to meet the economic and investment challenges. Instead of correcting the debt brake arbitrarily by privileging armaments spending in an economically dubious way, the federal government should have the courage to carry out a comprehensive reform. This must favor all public investments and allow greater scope for economic policy.
More: Guest commentary: Europe is facing major problems due to the Ukraine war and the energy crisis