Weekly happenings at the German Parliament, Bundestag

Weekly happenings at the German Parliament, Bundestag

The German federal budget for 2022 outlines key future investments and measures focusing on climate protection, digitization, education, research, infrastructure, social security, and international aid. This budget aims to make the 2020s a decade of future investments, aligning with EU fiscal and environmental frameworks.

Climate Protection

Germany aims to be climate-neutral by 2045, with consistent social climate protection policies. Investments emphasize the expansion of the hydrogen economy using climate-neutral hydrogen, and significant funding for renewable energies such as solar and wind power. The budget includes measures to abolish the gas storage levy, aiming to reduce energy costs and encourage investments in renewable infrastructure and storage technologies.

Digitization

The budget stresses investment in fiberoptic networks to reach 50 percent coverage, AI development including a European “AI gigafactory,” and cloud infrastructure to ensure digital sovereignty. The government aims to maintain innovation and competitiveness in digital technologies, with a strong emphasis on regulation to promote “AI Made in Germany.”

Education and Research

Support for research institutions, including recruiting international scientists, appears alongside funding for aerospace technology projects through the Aerospace Research Program (LuFo). The program prioritizes climate-neutral aviation and reducing environmental impacts, showing continuous government commitment in education and research innovation sectors.

Infrastructure

Increased investments are made in infrastructure as part of a multi-year fiscal plan approved with the EU covering 2025-29. This includes special debt-financed funds for military upgrades and broader infrastructure projects expected to sharply raise public spending in the short term.

Social Security

Although less explicitly detailed in available sources, the social aspects link to supporting a "social climate protection policy," implying integration of social security with climate goals to manage societal impacts.

International Aid

Specific international aid measures were not explicitly detailed in the 2022 federal budget from the available sources; however, Germany’s broader focus on global topics such as climate change and scientific cooperation suggests ongoing engagement in international partnerships and aid related to these areas.

Other Key Investments

• The Technical Relief Agency (THW) will receive a 61 million euro increase in its budget, and a special fund for the Bundeswehr of 100 billion euros has been initiated to strengthen defense capabilities.
• The German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI) is being established to strengthen regional innovation promotion and contribute to the faster implementation of scientific ideas into practice.
• The traffic light coalition decided on a relief package in February 2022, which includes the premature abolition of the EEG surcharge from 1 July 2022 and a doubling of the planned heating cost subsidy for recipients of housing benefit.
• The budget includes key figures for the federal budget 2023 and the financial plan until 2026.
• More than 200 billion euros will be made available in the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) between 2022 and 2026 for the expansion of renewable energies and innovative technologies.
• The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) will receive a 20 million euro increase.
• The coalition agreement includes a goal to build up to 100,000 publicly funded apartments each year, with 14.5 billion euros provided for social housing in the coming years. An additional one billion euros was provided last year for climate-friendly construction of social housing, bringing the total federal government funding for this purpose to two billion euros.
• The Federal Ministry of the Interior will receive an additional 17.5 million euros to bolster measures for extremism prevention, strengthening Jewish life in Germany, and addressing minority concerns.
• The federal budget 2022 is intended to make the 2020s a decade of future investments, with investments in climate protection, digitization, education, research, and infrastructure.
• The federal "Democracy Lives!" program is being topped up by a further 15 million euros.
• An independent Ministry of Housing has been established, with almost 5 billion euros available for 2022 to support affordable housing, future-oriented urban development, and climate protection.

This budget is being discussed in the Bundestag and is being drawn up in a time of extraordinary challenges, including the war in Ukraine, the ongoing pandemic, and rising energy costs. The government is considering a draft bill that mandates gas storage operators to maintain certain minimum fill levels at specified dates throughout the year. The Area Manager, a subsidiary of all gas pipeline operators in Germany, will continuously monitor the fill levels of gas storage facilities. The Federal Police will receive 1,000 new positions, and significant funds are being provided to mitigate the societal, social, and economic consequences of the pandemic, including for citizen tests, medication, and protective masks.

The relief package is worth 16 billion euros and aims to relieve many people in a tangible and unbureaucratic way. An additional budget has been introduced for the parliamentary deliberations on the federal budget 2022 to mitigate the impacts of the Ukraine war, cushion rising energy costs, and expand humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The government is maintaining the share of development cooperation expenditure in the gross domestic product (ODA quota) at 0.7 percent. The budget for the Foreign Office includes 2 billion euros for humanitarian aid and 485 million euros for crisis prevention, stabilization, peace promotion, and climate and security policy.

1. The German budget for 2022 allocates funds for the expansion of climate-neutral hydrogen economy and renewable energies like solar and wind power, as part of efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2045.
2. In line with EU fiscal and environmental frameworks, the budget includes measures to bolster Germany's digital infrastructure, such as fiberoptic networks, AI development, and cloud infrastructure.
3. The government is investing in research institutions and aerospace technology projects through programs like LuFo, with a focus on climate-neutral aviation and reducing environmental impacts.
4. The budget plans for increased infrastructure investments over a multi-year fiscal period, which includes special debt-financed funds for military upgrades and broad infrastructure projects.
5. Social security aspects are integrated with climate goals to manage societal impacts, although the specific measures are less explicitly detailed in the 2022 budget.
6. Germany intends to maintain its focus on international aid and cooperation, particularly in areas relating to climate change and scientific advancements, but the 2022 budget does not explicitly detail specific international aid measures.

Read also: