As of: February 13, 2024, 6:07 p.m
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Members of parliament at a meeting in the Potsdam state parliament.
© Bernd Settnik/dpa/archive image
The Kenya coalition wants to increase the supplementary budget seven months before the state elections.
For example, she is concerned with higher tariffs, but also with more jobs.
Potsdam - The red-black-green coalition wants to increase the planned supplementary budget of around 371 million euros by around 225 million euros in the election year.
The parliamentary group leaders of the SPD, CDU and Greens announced on Tuesday that they wanted the changes to implement wage increases for civil servants and other institutions, for new positions in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, in the health sector and the State Audit Office, as well as a second location for the State Fire Brigade School.
Almost 209 million euros are earmarked for the tariff increase for civil servants, 9.7 million euros for higher tariffs for employees at student unions, choirs and theaters, said SPD parliamentary group leader Daniel Keller in Potsdam.
According to Green Party leader Petra Budke, two million euros have been earmarked for projects against right-wing extremism.
“Our democracy has never been as endangered as it is now,” said Budke.
Co-parliamentary group leader Benjamin Raschke announced around one million euros for 18 new positions in the Ministry of Health and the State Office of Health.
Two million should flow into the planning for the new building of the state fire brigade school in Wünsdorf, said CDU parliamentary group leader Jan Redmann.
Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke and Finance Minister Katrin Lange (both SPD) agreed on this.
In addition, 18 new positions are to be added at the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
According to Daniel Keller, up to 200,000 euros are earmarked for two additional positions at the State Audit Office.
If possible, they should be used to control the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), which plunged into a crisis in 2022 over allegations of nepotism and waste.
The SPD parliamentary group leader said that the additional funds could be realized primarily from the expectations for the 2023 annual financial statements.
Brandenburg is expected to end the 2023 budget year with a surplus of around 300 million euros, government spokesman Florian Engels announced.
The country therefore does not have to take 611 million euros from its reserves as planned, said Finance Minister Lange.
The surplus will help to at least partially reduce coverage gaps in the budget years from 2025.
However, Lange pointed out that balancing the supplementary budget planned for this year would reduce the reserves.
Left-wing faction leader Sebastian Walter called for more funding for municipalities and climate money for households with incomes below 3,000 euros as a one-off payment of 300 euros.
The spokesman for the Free Voters group, Péter Vida, accused the coalition of “trying to distribute election gifts in 2024”.
According to Finance Minister Lange's previous planning, the supplementary budget should increase the budget volume by almost 371 million to 16.73 billion euros.
Around 1.9 million euros are budgeted for the planned payment card for asylum seekers.
The supplementary budget is a consequence of the budget ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, which decided that the federal government cannot set aside emergency loans for later years.
The state parliament therefore declared an extraordinary emergency situation again before Christmas, but separately for 2024, in order to secure the Brandenburg aid package to cushion the consequences of the Ukraine war.
dpa