Bundestag committee approves 2024 budget, which plans for multibillion-dollar aid to Kyiv
After weeks of political wrangling regarding the economy, the German Parliament Budget Committee has approved the budget for 2024, with expenditures of around €476.8 billion and new loans totaling about €39 billion.
Source: DPA, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The Bundestag (lower house) and Bundesrat (upper house) are expected to make the final decision on the 2024 budget in early February, but its approval in the budget committee is already considered a decisive step towards the budget's adoption in parliament.
Quote: "As coalition parliamentary groups, we are putting together a balanced budget despite different perspectives, against the backdrop of multiple crises and despite a difficult starting point for these parliamentary deliberations following the Federal Constitutional Court judgement," the budget ministers from the three coalition parties said following the meeting.
They emphasised social justice, economic incentives (particularly in tax policy), investments in climate protection, and the strengthening of democracy and international solidarity. Meanwhile, they mentioned that subsidies would be reduced.
Background:
- Earlier, it was reported that Germany's governing coalition agreed on the country's budget for 2024 after a month of tense negotiations amid a crisis related to the emergence of a "hole" in the budget of €60 billion.
- Prior to that, Germany planned to double military aid to Kyiv by 2024, reaching €8 billion.
- Germany's budget situation has descended into chaos following a November ruling by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that Berlin cannot redirect €60 billion of unused funds from the COVID pandemic to climate projects.
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