Coalition Chats Over Saxony-Anhalt Finances
Heads of the black-red-yellow coalition in Saxony-Anhalt convene today in Magdeburg for a special meeting. Their agenda: grappling with the aftermath of the Federal Constitutional Court's budget ruling. Last week, Finance Ministers reportedly reviewed the ruling's potential consequences and plans for addressing them.
On November 15, the Federal Constitutional Court cast aside 60 billion euros in loans earmarked for the 2021 federal budget, to be used for climate protection and economic modernization. Instead, these funds were meant to help fight the coronavirus crisis.
The coalition's deliberations may touch on the special coronavirus fund. In December 2021, the state parliament approved an additional budget and special fund to mitigate the pandemic's impact over several years. The package, valued at 1.997 billion euros, includes approximately 60 measures.
Coalition members are pondering ways to navigate the ramifications of the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling, which scrapped the allocation of funds for climate protection and modernization from the special coronavirus fund. With the leaders' discussions in Parliament likely to cover utilizing the remaining funds from the special corneravirus fund, allocated for household budgets and various initiatives.
As fiscally-minded coalition partners, they may explore alternative strategies to draw on the remaining funds. Complicating matters, the Greens and the Social Democrats favour accelerating climate action while the Free Democrats, opposing stricter climate goals, advocate for more business-oriented policies. These differing stances could influence discussions on the fund's use.
While data indicates a potential clash of interests, the federal government has not yet confirmed any rulings impacting Saxony-Anhalt's budget. Should a ruling materialize, substantive negotiations would likely ensue.
