Late on Sunday evening, the Union and the traffic light coalition agreed on the legal basis for the planned Bundeswehr special fund. Finance Minister Christian Lindner will hold a press conference on this topic on Monday. The press conference in the ticker.
12:57: “I don’t think so,” Lindner said when asked if he thought interest in the Ukraine war would decrease because of concerns about inflation. “People also see that our freedom is being defended there. Still we must not lose sight of other risks.” Inflation is not a benefit for the state either, but a risk. “We have to work together in terms of economic and financial policy in such a way that we take pressure off prices and get the state budget out of debt.” That ends the press conference.
12.55 p.m .: “Yes, there was a firm commitment from the Union to agree, that was the basis from the start.” Then he answers a question about the two percent NATO will then start a discussion on how to proceed. That will then be determined.”
12:53: “‘For the Bundeswehr’ was added to ensure that the money from the special fund is only used for this purpose,” explains Lindner when asked my colleague Lambrecht.” But it should happen this year.
12:51 p.m.: “We see that people are suffering from inflation. People are worried that everything is getting more and more expensive, politicians are only talking in billions instead of millions. I share these concerns,” says Lindner when asked and complains that the question asked is “a little too party-political” for him. That’s why it’s his goal to fight it.
12.50 p.m .: Someone wants to know how to finance the 2023 budget without new debts. “It’s a question of priority,” says Lindner. You will find opportunities.
12.47 p.m .: A questioner wants to know to what extent the two percent fixed will also be fixed for future governments. “It’s not fixed forever,” says Lindner. Later, one would abide by the NATO specifications. Lindner expertly answers questions about possible market stimulation. “Neutral Fiscal Stands” should be the goal, i.e. fiscal neutrality. That was also the result of the consultations with the IMF.
12:44 p.m .: Lindner clearly answers a question about cyber security. “Yes, more has to happen and no, there is no concrete order of magnitude yet.” Without a concrete concept, he was unable to specify one. He also answers a question about the repayment of the fund. “There will be a specific, own repayment plan, that was very important to us and the Union.” That is not disputed from the normal budget.
12.43 p.m .: It is now extremely important to find out whether the discount will also be passed on to people. “We don’t want to leave drivers alone with the rising prices.”
12.40 p.m .: He also proposes something other than salvation in terms of the welfare state. “We can’t do that by simply giving people more money. The planned citizens’ benefit is not a redistribution of social funds.” Now he is dedicating himself to the upcoming tank discount. “We originally had a different idea at the BMF – direct rebates instead of tax cuts. This is not the case with the tax cut, the model was not enforceable within the coalition. But we have expressly written in the contract that we will lower taxes and at the same time strengthen the antitrust authorities. It will take a moment for the discount to hit the pump.” This is due to the fact that the stored fuel is still taxed according to the old rate.
12:38 p.m .: “We want to organize more relief,” says Lindner, referring to Hubertus Heil’s statements. Lindner also says how he wants to do it. “My suggestion is a tax reform. Cut payroll taxes next year to end cold progression for everyone.”
12:36 p.m .: “The top priority must be to fight infection. We have to fight them so that there is no economic crisis,” said Lindner. “I would go so far as to say: Now the traffic light will only be formed.” The 2023 budget “is of particular importance for the coalition more debt.”
12:34 p.m .: Lindner complained about the reporting on FOCUS Online about Baerbock’s commitment as “somewhat sensational” and says: “The fact is that we have agreed on a time when everyone gets their feedback from the party leadership. Ms. Baerbock took a little longer than the agreed 30 minutes, so we extended it by 20 minutes. At 10:52 p.m. we then issued the joint statement.”
12:33 p.m .: Lindner emphasizes two things: “Without tax increases” the special assets will be raised. “We did not follow the example of increasing the solos as we did before the Iraq war.” Second point: “The debt brake will not be softened for this.”
12:31 p.m .: Lindner begins. “Now it’s about turning money into empowerment. We raised the money, now we have to use it wisely,” said the Minister of Finance. “There are two percent available every year.” Even after the end of the billions, a certain amount of money, measured against NATO targets, should be available every year.
On Sunday evening, the traffic light coalition reached an agreement with the Union on the planned 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr. The money is intended to increase the regular defense budget. The funds should – as demanded by the CDU and CSU – benefit the Bundeswehr alone. Measures demanded by the Greens, for example to protect against digital attacks, should therefore not be financed from the special fund, but from the federal budget.
At 12.30 p.m. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) will give a press conference on this topic. FOCUS Online accompanies this in the live ticker.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) welcomed the agreement on the Bundeswehr special fund as an important step with which Germany could fulfill its obligations in NATO. “We must use the next few years to maintain alliance and defense capability,” said Baerbock on Deutschlandfunk on Monday. It was therefore important to her to anchor the special fund in the Basic Law. It is about “strengthening the trust that is ailing”.
“In this terrible situation, we can only ensure that we are able to defend ourselves together as Europeans, only together as a NATO partner and also only together in the Federal Republic of Germany,” said Baerbock, referring to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine Above all, “that we make it clear to our eastern partners that we defend every corner of our common alliance territory”.
Baerbock emphasized: “Russia must not win this war under any circumstances, and that means that Russia needs a strategic defeat.” Ukraine must “be able to make free decisions about its country again”. You must “be able to live in freedom, in peace, in security like any other country in the world”.
It is about putting the Ukrainians in a position “that they can defend themselves and that they have their country free again”. The federal government has repeatedly made it clear “that Russia, which has broken with any peace order, must not win this war,” said Baerbock. She added: “That means Ukraine must be able to win.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been sharply criticized in recent weeks for missing this sentence.
He also welcomed the agreement with the Union on the Bundeswehr special fund. “The German Bundeswehr will be strengthened. It will be able to fulfill its defense mandate better than ever, and it will be able to make its contribution to NATO so that we can defend ourselves against attacks from outside at any time,” said the SPD politician at Hanover on Monday Industrial fair. “This will help make Germany and Europe more secure. It is the right answer to the turning point that started with Russia’s attack on Ukraine.”
The special fund of 100 billion euros is a “big step for our country,” said Scholz. He was grateful that a cross-party understanding was found.
According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, insurance brokers report that Allianz wants to get rid of hundreds of medium-sized companies by increasing prices by up to 400 percent. Property insurance, which companies use to protect themselves against fire, storm damage and business interruption, is affected.
