Funding confusion and more money: the CDU faction has demands

Created: 05/19/2022Updated: 05/19/2022 16:59

Thuringia's CDU faction leader Mario Voigt.

© Martin Schutt/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Archive image

The funding of towns, communities and districts by the state is a long-running issue in the political debate in Thuringia.

The opposition CDU faction is now launching a new attack on the state government.

Erfurt - CDU parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt has accused the state government of a funding confusion in programs for the Thuringian municipalities.

“In Thuringia there are around 110 funding programs that the municipalities can access.

There are only a few million euros in some funding pots," Voigt told the German Press Agency in Erfurt on Thursday.

Many municipalities, especially small ones, waived money because they shied away from the time-consuming application process.

"We are asking for the programs to be reduced to about 30 without losing meaningful funding opportunities or money."

Before a “municipal summit” planned for Thursday evening by his group, Voigt reiterated the demand for higher payments from the state to cities, municipalities and districts.

The direct allocations alone would have to be increased by 100 million euros in the coming year.

More money is also needed to promote small towns - instead of the current 30 million, it should be 60 million euros.

In addition, a special burden compensation would have to be discussed in view of the high inflation.

The left and the SPD rejected the criticism of the CDU.

The CDU politician referred to an investment backlog in the municipalities in the billions, which must be lifted.

"We've had an imbalance for years." Voigt also referred to a warning from the Court of Auditors at the beginning of the week that part of the payments that the state makes for tasks assigned to the municipalities must be recalculated.

They are too low.

"That proves that our criticism is justified and that there is a massive need for action."

The parliamentary group of the left explained that this year the municipalities in Thuringia would have 5.6 billion euros at their disposal from their own tax revenues and state allocations.

That is more money than ever before - and almost two billion euros more than in the last year of the CDU government in 2014 in Thuringia.

Since then, no new tasks have been assigned to the municipalities by the state.

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The SPD financial politician Janine Merz said, "the facts speak a different language than Voigt's scaremongering".

Since 2014, the municipalities have repaid debts of 612 million euros and in 2021 they have increased their investments by 33 million to around 924 million euros.

For several years, the CDU parliamentary group has been pushing for the legally regulated financial equalization between the state and local authorities in Thuringia to be reformed.

The red-red-green minority coalition also wants that, but there are very different positions between the coalition and the opposition on many detailed questions.

According to Voigt, up to 100 local politicians were expected at the meeting of the CDU parliamentary group in Erfurt - not only with party membership of the CDU.

dpa