Constitutional debt funds in Berlin: Lawyers criticize planned billion dollar investment
Constitutional debt funds in Berlin: Lawyers criticize planned billion dollar investment
politicians and lawyers have different views and this has now also been shown in the Berlin Senate. A law firm commissioned by the Senate concludes that the planned debt fund for "climate protection, resilience and transformation" in the amount of up to ten billion euros violates the constitution. The constitutional judges argue that due to the annual budget processing, an emergency cannot be stretched over several years. This argument was already successful in the federal budget, which was also declared void. The lawyers believe that the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court should also be applied to the Berlin state budget. The Senate, on the other hand, argues that the planned special fund can be assessed differently than that of the federal government.
The fact that the Senate has obtained an expert opinion shows that it does not want to make the same mistake as the federal government. However, CDU and SPD could also have recognized without an expert opinion that the concept of annuality in the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court must also apply to Berlin.
It is clear that Berlin urgently has to invest, for example in building renovation and energy supply. However, the constitution sets clear limits: an emergency must be justified and the debt brake applies. As a result, Berlin's ruling mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) himself called for a reform of the debt brake. This would make more sense than new creative solutions from the Senate, which in turn could be contested in court.
In the table below, information about the planned measures and the debt fund in Berlin is listed:
| Measures | Planned amount |
| ——————————— | --————- |
| Climate protection | 5 billion euros |
| Resilience (resistance) | 3 billion euros |
| Transformation | 2 billion euros |
It remains to be seen how the Senate will react to the constitutional concerns and whether a reform of the debt brake is considered. However, it is certain that Berlin has to find a sensible solution to make urgently needed investments without violating the constitution.
Source: Berliner Morgenpost/OTS