To deal with the Corona crisis, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania went into debt again for the first time in 15 years. Now the energy crisis requires further extra spending. The country now wants to shoulder these without new loans – for the time being.
Schwerin (dpa/mv) – According to Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to finance the special expenses caused by the crisis without new debts if possible. But it must be possible to suspend the debt brake if necessary. “In the event that the energy crisis requires further support measures, such a path cannot be ruled out,” Schwesig told the German Press Agency in Schwerin. The state leaders made this clear several times in talks with the federal government and pushed for an exception.
Unlike in the Corona crisis, the country has so far refrained from taking on any further debt. At its last session of the year, the state parliament approved a supplementary budget in mid-December. According to this, an additional 508 million euros are available in 2023 to help schools, daycare centers, municipal energy suppliers, medium-sized companies and citizens in need to cope with the energy price increases and to accelerate the energy transition. The hardship fund contained therein comprises 100 million euros. The country draws on its reserves for financing and uses additional tax revenue. Then there are the federal aid programs.
“Now we have to ensure that this support, for which a great deal of money is available, also reaches the people and the companies directly,” said Schwesig. That is why the state government will also deal with the implementation of the hardship fund for small and medium-sized companies at its first meeting of the new year on January 3rd. The state is increasing the 20 million euros promised by the federal government to 40 million. Amounts in the millions are also planned for the areas of education and social affairs. “For me and the state government, the most important task in the new year is to continue steering our state well through the energy crisis,” emphasized Schwesig.
She criticized the federal government’s decisions, which she believed were often too hesitant. In view of the rapid jumps in energy prices, the federal states had already called for specific aid measures from March, but these were only decided with a considerable delay in Berlin and their concrete implementation is faltering. “I don’t think it’s good that we don’t have the measures clear beforehand. Our state government has been campaigning since spring that we need both price brakes and hardship regulations. The discussions at federal level dragged on for a very long time,” complained Schwesig.
When planning the new double budget for the years 2024/25, the state government is striving for a balanced budget draft without new debts. “But nobody knows how the energy crisis will develop. You have to be ready to react to developments. That’s what we did in the corona pandemic,” said Schwesig. In 2020, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania suspended the debt brake enshrined in the state constitution for the first time and approved new loans totaling 2.85 billion euros. This is legally permissible in emergencies. However, the scope of the so-called corona protection fund is controversial, since the money is also used to finance investments that are not directly related to the pandemic.
