He spoke as Berlin faces a domestic budget crisis.
According to O. Scholz, Germany, together with the United States, is still one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine, providing Kyiv with weapons to fight the invading Russian forces.
“We will continue this support as long as it is necessary,” O. Scholz emphasized in his speech to the parliament. – This support is of existential importance. For Ukraine, (…) but also for us in Europe.”
“None of us wants to imagine what even more serious consequences V. Putin’s victory in this war would cause us,” said O. Scholz.
The chancellor was addressing MPs following a surprise ruling by the Constitutional Court which blew a huge hole in the government’s spending plans earlier this month.
The court declared that the government violated the provision established in the country’s constitution that the structural deficit cannot exceed 0.35 percent. gross domestic product (GDP).
The decision leaves the government scrambling to pass a new budget by the end of the year and boost much-needed investment in reducing carbon emissions and modernizing the armed forces.
In an effort to quell the crisis, the government plans to suspend the constitutional rule on structural deficits for the fourth consecutive year.
It was temporarily suspended in 2020-2022 to deal with crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a spike in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Germany has provided billions in support to households and businesses to help them cope with rising bills, Scholz said.
However, it is not enough to consider only the winter of 2022-2023, when energy prices were high, said O. Scholz.
“It’s always been about the winter of 2023-2024,” Scholz said, referring to an ongoing crisis that could justify suspending the rule in question.
“We should by no means give up support to Ukraine and stop trying to overcome the energy crisis,” said O. Scholz.
“It would be irresponsible and endanger our future,” he added.
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2024-08-30 03:19:45
