German states agree on demands for federal government at minister-presidents’ conference
At a minister-presidents’ conference on Thursday, the states have reached a clear consensus on their demands to the federal government regarding the 100 billion euro special fund for infrastructure and the distribution of the funds. The so-called “Königsteiner Schlüssel” will be applied in principle, both for the special fund and for the additional structural debt possibility, amounting to 0.35 percent of the nominal gross domestic product.
In addition, the state premiers discussed the development of the federal system. “To preserve the handling and performance capabilities of our federal system, federal laws that have financial consequences for the states and municipalities must be automatically compensated by the federal government with additional funds, at least in part, in the future” said Hesse’s Minister-President Boris Rhein (CDU) on the sidelines of the meeting. The principle “who orders, pays” must be applied more strongly again.
“States and municipalities need sufficient financial leeway to fulfill their tasks in the federal system” Rhein added. According to the Hesse Minister-President, the states overall showed a high degree of cohesion. “I am very pleased that the states are presenting a united front in important issues. A new optimism in cooperation is palpable” said Rhein on Thursday.