Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is willing to approve an additional aid package for Ukraine, worth an estimated three billion euros.
It did not consent to suspending the country’s strict rules on government spending.
CDU lawmaker, Thorsten Frei told dpa on Thursday that the party favoured financing the measure through “extraordinary expenditure,’’ without affecting the debt brake, Germany’s constitutional restrictions on ordinary borrowing.
“There is absolutely no reason to abandon the debt brake.
“The federal government has sufficient flexibility,’’ he added, pointing to 50 billion euros in additional borrowing this year.”
The comments came after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said the package could only be financed by suspending the debt break.
Frei praised the aid, which he said would help in strengthening Ukrainian air defence against Russian missile and drone attacks.
“This means protecting residential areas, hospitals and schools,’’ he added.
Scholz’s Social Democrats seek to reach a decision on the package before national elections on Feb. 23, but are concerned about financing the measure amid Germany’s budgetary crisis.
According to Article 112 of the Basic Law, Germany’s constitution, the package could be financed as an extraordinary expenditure only in the case of an unforeseen and unavoidable requirement.
An example of such expenditure was the immediate aid for residents hit by severe floods in parts of Germany in 2013.
(dpa/NAN)
