The federal government's loan requirements apparently have no limits.
As reported from government circles on Thursday, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) is increasing the new debt for 2022 in his planning.
He now expects a net borrowing of around 100 billion euros, it said.
In the key figures from March, 81.5 billion euros had been budgeted.
In terms of the financial requirements of the past few months, this is a small deviation, but compared to the pre-Corona years it is a considerable plus.
Manfred Schäfers
Business correspondent in Berlin.
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Because of the pandemic, the federal government incurred around 130 billion euros in new debt last year.
This year, 240 billion euros in new loans are planned.
Together with the new borrowing in the coming year, the federal government is thus approaching the sum of half a trillion euros that was barely conceivable for three years.
For comparison: the total debt of the federal government amounted to 1.4 trillion euros at the end of 2020.
It's not just the pandemic
According to the debt brake in the Basic Law, the federal government may in normal times borrow 0.35 percent of the gross domestic product, which is around 12 billion euros. An exception is made in the event of natural disasters or exceptional emergency situations which are beyond the control of the state and which have a significant impact on the state's financial position. Originally, the black-red coalition only wanted to use this clause in 2020 and 2021. Now it is said that the pandemic will continue into the coming year.
Of course, the pandemic is not the only reason that the gap between income and expenditure in financial planning is widening.
The federal government is planning an immediate climate protection program in 2022, for which it will need another 8 billion euros.
The largest item is the funding program for energy-efficient buildings, for which 2.5 billion euros are earmarked next year and 2 billion euros the following year.
In addition, there is another billion, spread over several years, for “climate-friendly social housing”.
An additional 650 million euros have been earmarked for industry, which is making its production processes more climate-friendly.
It is likely that the new federal government will have to cut its financial planning.
Otherwise the debt brake would not be adhered to from 2023 onwards.
Austria wants a "stability alliance"
Before the meeting of the euro finance ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday, Scholz showed no interest in side with those in favor of solid budgetary policy in the ongoing discussion about a reform of the EU stability pact. The Austrian finance minister Gernot Blümel wanted to inform his counterparts from the “Nordic” euro states, including Germany, about his plans for a “stability alliance” on the sidelines of the Luxembourg meeting. According to EU diplomats, Germany reacted most reservedly to the Austrian advance of the northern countries. Austria has received support from other states, it was said in Luxembourg.
He did not want to shut himself off from a debate on reforming the pact, said Blümel. Its “too high complexity” can certainly be improved; but it should not become more flexible. The “solid” states are worried that debt policy will generally become a habit in the EU in the future. Blümel's initiative apparently goes back to the last meeting of EU finance ministers in Lisbon in May. At that time, several participants had put a “new magic formula” up for debate, according to which debt policy would be unproblematic as long as effective interest rates remained below economic growth. Blümel called this a "fatal link". It gives the wrong impression that medium to long-term debt reduction is no longer necessary. "I consider that to be a fatal signal to the markets."