Germany German budget will probably not be finalized until the end of the month
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once again assured the Bundestag that the cabinet will approve the budget for 2025 by the end of July. This was originally due to go through the cabinet today (July 3).
03.07.2024, 16:15
SDA
Scholz did not commit to an exact date when questioned by MPs in parliament. It remains the case that the government will approve the budget this month in the federal cabinet, as planned, said the SPD politician.
The Bundestag typically discusses the budget after the summer break until the end of the year. "There will be no disruption to this timeline."
Scholz has been discussing the budget with Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) for weeks. Instead of July 3, July 17 is currently being discussed for the cabinet decision. In order to reach this date, however, an agreement in principle is necessary in the next few days, as the drafting of the budget law usually takes another ten days or so.
Special meeting of the SPD parliamentary group on Friday
The individual budgets have largely been negotiated, but there is still a billion-euro gap that needs to be closed. The SPD is pushing for the debt brake to be suspended again in order to have more leeway. For Lindner, this is out of the question.
The German debt brake stipulates that the state may only take out new loans up to 0.35 percent of gross domestic product. In order to suspend this temporarily, the Bundestag would have to declare an emergency. However, Lindner's Liberals would not go along with this. The Bundestag will deal with the draft budget from September - if the cabinet reaches an agreement.
