Gigantic 500 billion euros: Billion package for Fulda and the surrounding area!

Gigantic 500 billion euros: Billion package for Fulda and the surrounding area!

The new black-red government in Germany has launched a comprehensive initiative to strengthen infrastructure and climate protection. A special fund of up to 500 billion euros was decided to enable urgently needed investments. The coalition agreement, signed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stipulates that up to 100 billion euros will flow to the municipalities via the states. Fulda newspaper reports that the infrastructure in Germany is dilapidated in many places and that decisive action appears to be necessary.

The mayor of Tann, Mario Dänner, said that the municipalities were chronically underfinanced and hoped for a “not inconsiderable sum” from the special fund to realize the necessary projects. He calls for unbureaucratic allocation of funds without specific purposes and emphasizes the need for de-bureaucratization and lowering minimum standards.

Financial support for municipalities

Peter Klug, mayor of Bad Salzschlirf, expressed similar hopes and expects around four million euros from the special fund for his financially weak municipality. Bad Salzschlirf is currently faced with the challenge of a debt level of 13.83 million euros. While the city of Fulda is cautious about the effects of the special fund, the Fulda district has not yet received any concrete information about the distribution of funds.

The Federal Council has approved the debt package, which includes a change to the Basic Law. This means that certain expenses are not counted towards the debt brake. These include, among other things, defense, civil and civil protection as well as aid for states attacked in violation of international law. Taylor Wessing informs that from a share of 1% of the gross domestic product, these expenses are not included in the debt brake.

Planned investments and their implementation

The new special fund will be used for infrastructure projects and for climate neutrality by 2045. Of the 500 billion euros, 100 billion euros will flow into the climate and transformation fund, while the remaining 100 billion will be available to the federal states for infrastructure. An establishing law by the Bundestag is required to implement the changes. The investments must be “additional”, which means that the investment share in the federal budget must exceed 10% of the total expenditure without special funds.

The specific uses of the funds have not yet been finally determined. However, initial trends from the coalition negotiations show that it is about the expansion and renovation of the transport infrastructure, hospital investments and the improvement of the energy infrastructure and the education and science infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn has also reported a need of 148 billion euros, with a total investment requirement of 290 billion euros by 2034.

Overall, there is a high need for financing for transport infrastructure, healthcare and the education sector, while companies can also benefit from the special fund through public contracts and funding programs. The specific way in which the funds are used will depend heavily on the future federal government.