Weekly happenings at the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)

The German federal budget for 2023, currently under debate, reflects a significant focus on climate crisis relief, digitization, infrastructure, and social welfare. Here are some key highlights:

Climate Crisis Relief and Climate Protection

Climate crisis relief and climate protection are major priorities within the budget framework. Germany aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2045. While the exact spending figures for these sectors are not separately quantified, they are integrated into sectoral budgets for energy, transport, buildings, and more.

Digitization

Investments linked to digitization are typically included within economic cooperation and development budgets, amounting to around €9-12 billion. However, some cuts are planned for upcoming years.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure investments are part of the overall economic and development budget, but no clear 2023 split is available. Infrastructure spending is tied to digitization and climate goals as part of the green and digital transformation.

Social welfare measures have included extensive fiscal measures to shield consumers from energy price shocks related to the energy crisis. In 2022-2023, around €30 billion has been expended on reducing fuel costs, subsidizing public transport, increasing child support, improving housing energy efficiency, and replacing gas boilers with heat pumps.

Specific Allocations

Vocational training and further education institutions will receive 38 million euros.
Language kindergartens will continue to receive transitional financing from the federal government.
One billion euros has been released from the relief package for the fight against hunger this year.
The federal government's share of housing and heating benefits in 2023 will be over 10 billion euros.
An additional 250 million euros has been made available for strengthening the German shipping location.
The Climate and Transformation Fund will provide one billion euros for new construction projects in the coming years.
With the new funding program for the retrofitting of particle filters for construction machines, 12 million euros will be available for this purpose in the next two years.
The "Global Health Hub" has been additionally equipped with one million euros.
For the successful program "Sanierung kommunaler Einrichtungen in den Bereichen Sport, Jugend und Kultur" (Renovation of communal facilities in the areas of sports, youth, and culture), the federal government provides additional funds of 400 million euros.
An additional 1.5 billion euros will be mobilized for the budget of the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport.
The video game industry will receive an additional 21 million euros for the Games Funding Program in 2023.
An additional 6 million euros will be invested in the German National Tourist Board (DZT) in 2023.
Key areas include building renovation, decarbonization of industry, the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy, promotion of charging infrastructure, and measures for natural climate protection.
An additional 2.3 billion euros has been secured for the construction and housing sector, bringing the total to 7.3 billion euros in 2023.
700 million euros will be available for ZIM in 2023 for the central innovation program for SMEs.
Researchers can rely on secure funding in Germany due to the agreed increases in the Pact for Research and Innovation for the coming years.
2.7 billion euros are earmarked for BAföG in the 2023 budget.
Housing is a human right and must be affordable. 2.2 billion euros has been earmarked for the new "Rent Plus" scheme.
Youth aged 12 to 18 can use digital learning offers for free at TUMO centers - 3 million euros will be provided to establish two centers.
An additional 2 million euros will be spent on supporting adult education centers to offer more literacy courses.
The federal government provides 1.5 million euros for the development of a National Action Plan against homelessness.
An additional 18.7 million euros will be spent on supporting research and projects in the field of automated and networked traffic systems.
An additional 10.8 million euros will be provided to maintain the current level of funding for the "Vocational Training for SMEs - Apprenticeship" program.
An additional 103.8 million euros will be provided in the next year and a further 324.6 million euros in the following years for digitization of the rail system.
Program spending for 2023 alone will exceed 35 billion euros for the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF).
The Citizen's Allowance will provide 24 billion euros for the largest social reform in the past 20 years in 2023.
The citizen's allowance, the permanent increase in child benefit, and help with heating costs are all included in the budget.
An additional 20.5 million euros from the parliamentary procedure will be invested in industrial research for companies in 2023.
Affordable housing remains a key focus, with 14.5 billion euros over the coming years.
An additional 22.8 million euros over the next three years (commitment authorizations) will be invested in the Excellence Initiative for Vocational Education.
An additional 200 million euros were made available for the federal special program for the "Adaptation of urban spaces to climate change" (Park program).

Additional Allocations

An additional 2.3 billion euros has been secured for the construction and housing sector, bringing the total to 7.3 billion euros in 2023.
Germany and its international partners in the EU and NATO are providing military, financial, diplomatic, and humanitarian support to Ukraine.
A significant amount of money will flow into relief for citizens and the economy in the coming year due to high energy prices.
Due to demographic development, the demand for barrier-free apartments and houses is increasing. In the parliamentary procedure, 75 million euros has been equipped for the KfW funding program "Altersgerecht Umbauen" for a new funding round in 2023.
790 million euros will be invested in the renovation and development of cities and communities in the coming year.
The funds for the "Strengthening Teaching and Study" future agreement will increase by an average of 3% each year.
An additional six million euros have been secured for the digitization of the healthcare system.
The child benefit for all children has been increased to 250 euros per month each.
The federal budget for 2023 now provides for expenditures of 476.3 billion euros.
The budget of the Federal Ministry of Health has increased by 2.5 to 24.5 billion euros compared to the government draft.
Over one billion euros will be available through a KfW program for the acquisition of cooperative shares for self-occupied housing in 2023.
The federal government is providing a total of 27.5 million euros for financially supporting the important area of securing skilled workers for small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in structurally weak regions.
Between 2023 and 2028, a total of 185 million euros will flow into the European health project IPCEI Health.
Russia launched a flagrant violation of international law by invading Ukraine on February 24.
An additional 353 million euros will be invested in reducing costs in rail freight transport and promoting the introduction of the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC).
An additional 23 million euros will be invested in the conversion to the GSM-R radio system for interference-resistant train radio and better mobile phone reception in trains.
An additional 86 million euros will be invested in the nationwide expansion of broadband.

[1] Constitutional Debt Brake: A fiscal rule in Germany that limits the federal government's structural deficit to 0.35% of GDP. [2] Climate Change Act (Klimaschutzgesetz): Legislation passed in 2019 that sets binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. [3] Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ): German Federal Ministry responsible for development cooperation and humanitarian aid. [4] Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF): A fund established in 2021 to finance climate protection and transformation projects in Germany. [5] Citizen's Allowance: A basic income for all citizens, introduced in 2023 as part of a major social reform.

The budget for climate crisis relief and climate protection in Germany is integrated into sectoral budgets for energy, transport, buildings, and more, indicating a significant focus on the energy industry and finance.
The digitalization sector, highlighted in the German federal budget, receives investments linked to digitization amounting to around €9-12 billion, which shows a connection between the finance and technology sectors.
In the realm of politics and general news, the German federal budget for 2023 includes a section dedicated to social welfare, with extensive fiscal measures aimed at energy price shocks, amounting to around €30 billion. This demonstrates a concern for citizen well-being and the economy as a whole.
Additionally, the budget includes finance allocation for sectors related to energy, infrastructure, and innovation, such as hydrogen economy, charging infrastructure, research, and market advancements in industries like video games and shipping.
Moreover, foreign aid and partnerships, particularly with Ukraine during its crisis, are part of the German budget, marking an intersection of finance, politics, and international relations.

Weekly happenings at the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)