After six weeks of negotiations and additional talks, the Frankfurt Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt have taken another hurdle to form their coalition.

The future coalition called “V-Ampel” has agreed on an additional declaration that will be attached to the coalition agreement presented two weeks ago.

"With the coalition agreement and the joint declaration, we are convinced that the coalition's intention to create a new Frankfurt can and should be implemented together," said a statement from the four parties on Saturday evening.

Martin Benninghoff

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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    This clears the way for the FDP's district members' meeting next Wednesday, at which the party’s base is to vote on the coalition agreement and the new declaration. A week and a half ago, a narrow majority in the FDP voted in favor of a counter-motion by the Young Liberals and thus against the coalition agreement. The vote had endangered the formation of a coalition, angered the partners Greens, SPD and Volt, and slowed down the process of forming a government. The top of the FDP sent the declaration to its members early on Saturday evening. The first - unrepresentative - reactions from liberal circles were positive.

    The declaration, which was called an "additional agreement" in an earlier draft, specifies the issues of finance, transport, legal and security policy - they had previously sparked massive criticism. The coalition is now striving to achieve balanced results budgets from 2024 onwards. In an earlier draft, “2023 at the latest” was mentioned. In addition, the reserves of the city treasury are to be "built up again in the long term". The implementation of all measures in the coalition agreement, it is said, is subject to "general financing reservation in accordance with the requirements of the Hessian municipal code". However, city policy should continue to have leeway for investments in order to “not leave any investment backlog behind”.

    In transport policy, all new structural measures should be implemented “only on the basis of the specific recommendations of the overall transport concept”. Only projects that have already been decided on or those by consensus could be implemented immediately. This overall traffic concept must be drawn up “with the involvement of external, independent scientific expertise” - that was one of the demands in the counter-motion of the Young Liberals. At the airport it says: “Normal operation is from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The night flight ban must be observed. "However, flights in the peripheral hours of the night are" permitted to a limited extent ".

    The autonomous centers in Frankfurt had also ensured a lively debate among the coalitionists. The passage in the coalition agreement, criticized by many in the FDP as being too vague, has been tightened: Efforts are made to achieve “reliable, permanent legal agreements, especially in the areas of building safety, fire protection and environmental regulations.” In addition, the “different situations in the various centers” - “Café Excess” , "Klapperfeld" and "In der Au" - addressed. In an earlier version there was talk of the conclusion of “proper rental agreements”, this wording was dropped after the final editing. The names of the centers are also no longer explicitly mentioned.

    On the other hand, there is no movement in the planned expansion of the magistrate to eleven departments. This is finally regulated "as a joint decision of the coalition" in the coalition agreement, it is said. "We have agreed not to increase the total number of staff in the departmental offices." The coalition had already announced this when it presented its contract two weeks ago.