Minister summoned for questioning
Lindner wants to resolve budget dispute with talks with bosses
24.05.2024, 11:15 a.m.
The 2025 budget is due to be finalized at the beginning of July. However, high spending demands from several departments are putting this schedule in jeopardy. Because no agreement is foreseeable in the usual process, Finance Minister Lindner is now taking action early.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner is bringing forward talks between heads of departments to clarify the dispute over the 2025 budget. The FDP politician wants to invite his colleagues to personal meetings who are demanding significantly more money in the budget negotiations for 2025, according to a statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance, according to “Spiegel”.
According to the invitation, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is demanding 7.6 billion euros more than Lindner was willing to grant him on the basis of the financial planning from last summer. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also expected to appear, demanding two billion euros more. Development Minister Svenja Schulze is asking for a similar amount. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is also demanding several billion euros more.
It is unclear whether Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will have to run again. He is demanding 6.5 billion euros more. Pistorius met with Lindner last week but was unable to reach an agreement.
Lindner wants to make it clear to the department heads that they have to finance their new spending requests from their budgets. No more talks between the heads of the other ministries, which have largely adhered to Lindner’s guidelines, are planned.
Talks between the heads of government usually take place at the end of the budget preparation process. If the departments cannot reach agreement beforehand, the ministers clear up the contentious points. Lindner brought the talks forward because it was foreseeable that no agreement could be reached using the traditional procedure. The government’s timetable calls for the government’s draft budget for 2025 to be approved by the cabinet on July 3.