Left party warns against planned cuts to consumer protection

The Left Party warns against the planned cuts to consumer protection in the 2025/2026 draft budget. They would send the wrong signal and further weaken trust in the state, said Stefan Hartmann, state party chairman and economic policy spokesperson for the left-wing parliamentary group, in a press release.

The planned cuts of 30 percent in subsidies for consumer insolvency advice and a quarter for consumer protection as a whole compared to the 2023/2024 double budget would threaten the existence of some institutions. "Consumer protection agencies across the state have unanimously informed us that they would no longer be able to provide their services - from debtor and insolvency advice to the Saxony Consumer Advice Center - as before," said Hartmann.

Draft budget presented at the end of March

At the end of March, Finance Minister Christian Piwarz (CDU) presented the government's draft for the 2025/2026 double budget. He explained that painful cuts were necessary in many areas. For consumer insolvency advice, 3.5 million euros are planned for this year and 2.3 million euros for next year, compared to 4.1 million euros per year in the previous double budget. The planned subsidies for consumer protection will fall by around 1.1 million euros to 3.6 million euros per year.