Saxony's Economics Minister Martin Dulig has welcomed the lifting of the federal government's budget freeze on subsidized economic projects. The freeze had led to uncertainties in the GRW investment program, the SPD politician told the German Press Agency. This has now been resolved. "That is the right thing to do. It is about sending signals of security to the economy and the people". The Saxon economy wants to invest, emphasized Dulig. There are significantly more applications than there is money available.
GRW stands for "Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures". It is funded equally by the federal and state governments. The funds flow into investment projects for companies and business-related infrastructure such as industrial estates. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, 52 million euros were temporarily blocked in Saxony.
The release by the federal government means that approvals can now be made again, it was said. However, important time was lost at the end of the year due to the budget freeze. This had to be made up again. A total of 188 million euros was available for new approvals in the GRW area this year.
Even if funding is secured for the time being, it cannot be ruled out that adjustments will have to be made in the future, explained Dulig. "Not because of the budget crisis, but because there are significantly more applications than funds."
In general, the mood in the Saxon economy is tense, said the minister. "That has something to do with a loss of confidence." The past few weeks and the uncertainty of the traffic light in the budget decisions had contributed to this. A great deal must now be invested in the economy and industry so that the upcoming changes can be managed. There is still a lot of uncertainty. "We are in a dip. Now it's about making sure that it is overcome quickly."
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