New budget: Rhineland-Palatinate capable of acting until 2024

Created: 2022-12-21Updated: 2022-12-21, 5:04 p.m

The state parliament in Mainz.

© Sascha Ditscher/dpa/archive image

Parliament ends the year with its most important task: the people's representative body approves the expenditure planned by the government.

Thanks to high income, debts can be repaid next year.

Mainz - In the last session of the year, the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament created the legal basis for the financing of state tasks until the end of 2024.

The majority of the government factions of the SPD, Greens and FDP voted on Wednesday for the spending plan with a total volume of more than 45 billion euros.

The opposition from the CDU, AfD and Free Voters rejected the double budget.

As expected, amendments from these groups did not find a majority.

The budget provides for income of 22.03 billion euros for 2023, for 2024 22.83 billion are estimated.

22.55 billion euros are planned as adjusted total expenditure for the coming year, and 22.73 billion for 2024.

A major item is the state's participation in the federal government's relief packages, which are intended to mitigate the consequences of high energy prices and inflation.

With the withdrawal of 1.1 billion euros from the reserves, there is no need to borrow again in 2023.

Instead, the budget for the coming year shows a net debt repayment of 570 million euros.

A transfer to the reserves of 148 million euros and a limited net borrowing of 49 million euros are then planned for 2024.

Finance Minister Doris Ahnen spoke of a short and long-term goal in the double budget.

"We have the strength to react prudently, responsibly, but also strongly to crises and to offer the necessary support."

Thanks to the reserves built up in recent years, the country has been able to develop the strength to do so.

In the current situation, access to the reserves can be well justified.

The two-day final debate on the budget remained without major highlights.

Speakers from the government factions emphasized that the spending plan makes the country resilient in the face of multiple crises.

The opposition primarily demanded more money for education, the police and civil protection.

Education Minister Stefanie Hubig, whose house has the largest single budget of 5.8 billion euros, announced in the debate that joint learning by children with and without disabilities should be promoted more intensively in Rhineland-Palatinate in the next two years: "For the Inclusion we provide 60 million euros" - each for one year.

The focus of the double budget is equal opportunities and educational equity.

The CDU education politician Jennifer Groß spoke in the debate of an urgent "emergency operation for the patient school - he has to be saved".

She called for a significant increase in permanent positions with the aim of teaching 105 percent.

In view of the highest number of newly enrolled children to date, more teachers are needed.

The future viability of the domestic economy is to be secured with 400 million euros.

"Rhineland-Palatinate is a location where you can work and live well," said Economics Minister Daniela Schmitt (FDP).

The double budget ensures that this stays that way.

The Rhineland-Palatinate climate protection minister Katrin Eder looked at the 49-euro ticket, which was supported by the state with 75 million euros.

This will be a crucial step to convince even more people to use public transport.

"The Deutschland-Ticket is a system change in the fare structure, it's a revolution," said Eder.

"We are also making progress with the issue of railway expansion," said the Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility, citing the reactivation of the Wieslauterbahn in the Palatinate, which was discontinued for passenger transport in 1966, as an example.

dpa