NOD FOR €343.6B BUDGET
German spending set to rise by nearly 4pc without incurring any new debt
THE budget committee of the German Parliament early yesterday approved a €343.6 billion (RM1.61 trillion) balanced budget plan for the year that boosts spending by nearly four per cent from last year without incurring any new debt.
The agreement came after a marathon session that lasted almost 14 hours, with members setting aside a dispute over migration that threatened to tear Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “grand coalition” apart unless other European Union states agreed to more equitably deal with an influx of refugees.
Eckhardt Rehberg, budget spokesman for the conservative bloc, said the agreement was clear evidence the ruling coalition retained the ability to act.
While avoiding new debt, the committee’s budget plan boosts investment by €2.8 billion to €39.8 billion from the €37 billion earmarked in the budget unveiled by Social Democratic Finance Minister Olaf Scholz last month.
The budget also funded significantly more jobs in security, including 3,075 more positions for Germany’s federal police and 525 more for the federal criminal office, said Rehberg.
The new budget plan would be presented to the full Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, for a vote next week, he said.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Development Minister Gerd Mueller, both conservatives, had objected in writing to their respective budgets, but the committee did not add funding beyond the level in Scholz’s initial plan.
Both ministries are pushing for increases in subsequent years. Scholz is expected to present the 2019 Budget to Merkel’s cabinet at the end of next week.