German State Minister Anke Rehlinger Urges Federal Government to Create Precondition for Infrastructure Investment in Next Year’s Budget
The Minister-President of the German state of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger of the Social Democratic Party, has called on the federal government to create the necessary preconditions in the 2025 federal budget to enable the use of the special fund for infrastructure investment.
Rehlinger warned of additional burdens for the states and municipalities if the federal government does not take a more responsible approach. “The federal government prioritizes economic growth and Lars Klingbeil is making good progress on that” she told the Rheinische Post, a German newspaper. “However, the planned investments must quickly reach the streets, the railways and the schools.”
The Minister-President emphasized the need for a law with relevant parameters and criteria to be passed in the 2025 federal budget, stating that the states want the investments to have a real impact on economic development, rather than simply being lost in the system.
Rehlinger also warned of additional burdens for the states and municipalities in the planned federal budget, stating that measures must be taken to protect the local and state budgets from significant new burdens, or else no one will be able to invest.
Meanwhile, the Minister-Presidents of the Christian Democratic Union are also urging the rapid implementation of the 500 billion euro special fund, which is also intended to benefit the federal states. “The special fund for our infrastructure, digitalization and climate protection has the potential for a strong investment impulse in Germany” said Hesse’s Minister-President, Boris Rhein, in an interview with the Rheinische Post.
Rhein emphasized the need for the federal government to quickly develop the implementation guidelines to establish planning and investment security, ideally before the summer break. “The money must quickly reach the states” he said.
According to the plan, the federal states are to receive 100 billion euros of the total 500 billion euros from the special fund to finance their investments. Rhein also stressed the need for a package of measures to accelerate planning, so that the investments can have a quick impact. “Then we will have the chance to set effective growth impulses for our economy and modernize our roads, schools and digital infrastructure” he said.
Saxony’s Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer, also highlighted the importance of an unbureaucratic implementation, stating that the states had agreed on the constitutional amendment with the federal government and that an unbureaucratic handling was important for the states. “We are talking about substantial future investments in roads and railways, in energy infrastructure, digitalization and climate protection” he said.