Germany's Coalition Government Reaches Agreement on 2024 Budget

The budget includes cuts to climate change programs, new environmental levies, and a commitment to provide military aid to Ukraine.

Germany's three-party coalition government has reached an agreement on the 2024 budget, avoiding additional borrowing and adhering to the constitutional 'debt brake'.
The budget includes €8 billion ($8.6 billion) in direct military aid to Ukraine, with the possibility of suspending the debt brake if more funding is needed.
Significant cuts have been made to climate change programs, including reductions in subsidies for electric vehicles and solar energy.
The budget compromise includes new levies on kerosene fuel for domestic flights and on the production of environmentally harmful plastic, as well as an increase in the CO2 surcharge on fuel, heating oil and gas.
The agreement comes after a month of tense negotiations following a constitutional court ruling that invalidated the government's plan to transfer unused pandemic debt to a climate and transformation fund.