New dispute about Paus’ law
Lindner still wants to check basic child security
06.09.2023, 01:40 am
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The Green Family Minister Paus is in a hurry to get her basic child security through the cabinet. The Minister of Finance thwarts her plans. Lindner wants four weeks for an exam. “Incomprehensible,” says the Greens.
Despite agreement at the traffic light meeting in Meseberg, the law introducing basic child security will not be on the agenda of the federal cabinet for the time being. According to the editorial network Germany (RND), the Federal Ministry of Finance, led by FDP leader Christian Lindner, informed the Green Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, that it would take four weeks to review the law.
This upsets Paus’ schedule. The Greens politician told the RND last week: “The departmental coordination is underway. We will hear the associations and the states very quickly. A cabinet decision is then firmly in sight for mid-September. The law must also be passed by the Bundestag in addition to the Bundestag Federal Council. It is therefore important that we can get this going as soon as possible.”
The Ministry of Finance says four weeks is the possible period of time in the federal government’s rules of procedure. In addition, the effects of basic child security on the federal budget are still to be examined. There is also no time pressure because the reform should not come into force until 2025 anyway.
Green upset about “long examination period”
It sounded less relaxed from Green circles. According to RND, the introduction of the draft law to the departmental vote was preceded by intensive discussions involving Chancellor Olaf Scholz. All essential points were clarified there. Therefore, such a long examination period is “technically incomprehensible”.
Paus had previously blocked Lindner’s Growth Opportunities Act in the federal cabinet in order to enforce basic child security. She also received criticism from her own party. Later, Paus and Lindner, mediated by Scholz, agreed on the reform. When the project was then presented to journalists, however, it became clear that there were still differences of opinion about its design.
At the end of August, Lindner described basic child security as “the last major social reform” that still fits into the federal budget. With the basic child security, benefits such as child benefit, benefits from the basic income for children and the child supplement are to be bundled from 2025.