Universities, associations and comparable charitable organizations are the main beneficiaries of the special Hessian grants to deal with the consequences of the Ukraine war.

This part of the aid package that Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) and Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir presented on Monday includes 88 million euros.

Ewald Hetrodt

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung in Wiesbaden.

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The total volume of the planned support amounts to 200 million euros.

This sum includes a precautionary "buffer for needs-based top-up" of a good 45 million euros.

The program takes up the suggestions of a social summit, to which the representatives of the socially relevant groups went to the State Chancellery at the end of September.

Subsequently, the parliamentary groups of the CDU, Greens, SPD and FDP worked out key points, which were also incorporated into the overall concept.

Help for clubs and culture

On Tuesday, the state parliament will debate this as part of the budget deliberations.

At the end of January, the final decisions, which will also apply retrospectively, are to be made.

While the universities will be relieved with 40 million euros, 30 million are earmarked for clubs.

"We provide tailor-made help with the state program when federal aid is no longer effective," explained Rhein.

Sports clubs, for example, benefited from this.

The federal program “Energiefonds Kultur”, which is intended to benefit institutions such as museums, theaters and cinemas, is supported by the state government with ten million euros.

More than 32 million euros are earmarked for socio-political purposes in the narrower sense.

This includes a hardship fund for people who are threatened with an energy blackout.

The state government estimates the “measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises” at 54 million euros.

However, these are not grants, but primarily micro-loans, which will initially burden the state budget for the next year at least.

The guarantee framework for companies in need has a much larger volume.

Loans for investments can be secured with a total of three billion euros.

In addition to the grants, which are only approved for the state, and the guarantees, Hesse is participating in the federal government's third relief program with its own money.

The Germany-wide 49-euro ticket, the increase and expansion of housing benefit and the concern for war refugees are passed on to all countries.

This results in a total of 380 million euros for Hesse so far.

Originally, a share of one billion euros was feared.

IHK satisfied for now

The relief at the lower contribution is clouded by the forecast that Hessen's tax revenue is likely to be EUR 600 million less.

With such prospects, the so-called economic component in the relevant legislation provides that loans may be taken out without having to suspend the debt brake.

In an interview with the FAZ, the president of the social association VdK, Paul Weimann, was satisfied with what the politicians had made of the agreements made at the social summit.

"But that's the legislation," he said.

"Now it's a matter of speedy implementation."

The President of the Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce, Kirsten Schoder-Steinmüller, praised the energy micro-loans.

"This will help some small and micro-enterprises." She called the guarantees "an important signal".

However, as expected, the breadth of the Hessian economy will not benefit from the new state aid because the federal government has announced extensive aid, "where we still see room for improvement," says Schoder-Steinmüller.

However, the crisis cannot be overcome with aid money.

“We solve them with more energy.

More supply is the best way to curb prices,” said the IHK President.