Funding for structural development in Lusatia secured despite budget crisis

Despite the federal budget crisis, the financial resources for structural development in Lusatia are secure, according to the Commissioner for Eastern Germany, Carsten Schneider. The funding remains unaffected and is legally secured by the Coal Phase-out Act, Schneider said on Friday at a meeting of the Lusatia Round Table in Spremberg (Spree-Neiße). With the supplementary budget still to be decided, there would then be legal certainty for the state's expenditure on municipal projects as well as financial resources from the federal government, for example for the expansion of railways and research areas. The SPD politician was confident that the supplementary budget would be passed.

The statements by the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany were a response to the concerns of the Lusatian municipalities in Saxony and Brandenburg, who see the promised 40 billion euros in structural funding for the coal regions at risk due to the precautionary blocking of financial commitments for the coming years by the federal government. The Federal Constitutional Court had declared the reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget null and void. The money had been approved as a coronavirus loan, but was to be used retrospectively for climate protection and modernizing the economy.

Because of the Karlsruhe budget ruling, the traffic light coalition wants to make use of the debt brake exemption for this year. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) intends to submit a supplementary budget to the cabinet next week in consultation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens).