The Green parliamentary group has issued a sharp criticism of how the €500 billion special fund’s investment money has been used for infrastructure and climate protection. According to a position paper that the “Rheinische Post” reported on in its Wednesday issue, the capital has largely been diverted from its intended purpose. “This deception must not continue” write the paper’s co‑author Katharina Dröge and senior Green members. They even urge Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finance Minister Klingbeil to ask citizens whether they truly deserved such lax handling of their money.
In the document the Greens outline several new spending priorities for the fund. They argue that climate protection has been neglected and call for at least €5 billion by 2034 to be earmarked for municipalities to strengthen their resilience to climate‑related shocks. An additional €2 billion should fund the expansion of district heating networks. The paper also demands that the federal government invest a further €8.5 billion in childcare, kindergartens and full‑time schools, and that €25 billion be made available for climate‑contraction contracts with the steel, chemical and cement industries.
A key warning goes to Chancellor Merz about his commitment to reform the debt brake. “The chancellor must uphold this promise. We hold Friedrich Merz to his word” the paper stresses. It points out that, without the Greens’ support, the Union and SPD failed last year to secure the two‑thirds majority in the Bundestag required to amend the constitution and set up the special fund. This Wednesday marks the fund’s one‑year anniversary.