Germany's Budget Committee approves additional €3 billion in military assistance for Ukraine – Reuters
www.pravda.com.ua
Thu, 30 Jan 2025 04:07:22 +0200
The Budget Committee of the German Parliament has called on Finance Minister Jrg Kukies to approve an additional 3 billion in military assistance for Ukraine.
The decision has been supported by opposition conservatives and the Free Democratic Party, while the ruling Social Democrats and the Greens abstained.
Source Reuters with reference to its sources Details The request was approved by the parliamentary budget committee with support from the opposition parties, the Christian Democratic Union CDU and the Free Democratic Party.
The ruling Social Democratic Party SPD and the Greens refrained from voting.
Although the committee lacks the authority to make independent decisions on extra assistance for Ukraine without the agreement of the finance minister, such requests are typically granted.
The budget committees CDU and FDP members claimed that there were enough funds in the budget to cover this request.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz SPD also supports providing additional military assistance to Ukraine but insists that doing so requires suspending the socalled debt brake, which is strict limits on government borrowing in Germany.
Quote This dispute over spending led to the collapse of Germanys government, as Scholz wanted to suspend the debt brake citing special circumstances, and former Finance Minister Christian Lindner refused, asking for cuts instead of new borrowing.
Details This funding comes in addition to the 8 billion earmarked for Ukraine in the 2024 budget.
German assistance to Ukraine was reduced to 4 billion in 2025, as the country hopes that Ukraine will be able to cover most of its military needs through the US50 billion in loans approved by the Group of Seven.
Background Earlier, Spiegel had unofficially learned that there was a dispute within the German government over an additional arms package for Ukraine worth about 3 billion. Later, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius refuted claims that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been blocking an additional 3 billion military assistance package for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Scholz stated that he opposes increasing arms deliveries to Ukraine if it requires a reduced funding for other expenses on the state budget.
Scholz also noted that there is no parliamentary majority to suspend Germanys strict debt limit, known as the debt brake, to fund assistance to Ukraine or other policies.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticised her government for its hesitancy in supporting Ukraine, emphasising that Germany as a whole isnt currently seen as a driving force for peace policy in Europe.
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