Scholz's government faces pressure over funding for German aid to Ukraine - NYT
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (photo: Getty Images)
The German government is facing mounting domestic pressure to withdraw its support for Ukraine and to push more actively for negotiations to end the war, reports The New York Times.
Germany's tripartite coalition government is becoming increasingly unpopular and faces critical state elections in September, where both far-left and far-right parties, which have called for an end to military aid to Kyiv, are expected to perform well.
A major burden for the government, which may be paralyzed in making crucial financial decisions, is the constitutional requirement to keep new budgetary debt at no more than 0.35% of GDP.
Additionally, the government may face potential embarrassment if the Attorney General brings charges against any Ukrainian officials for their alleged involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in 2022.
The tension between Germany and Ukraine is also more specifically related to the 2025 budget. Finance Minister Christian Lindner aims to avoid tax increases and reduce the budget, which by law must be close to balanced.
This constraint has put pressure not only on government aid to Ukraine but also on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's promise made two and a half years ago to make a sharp strategic shift and increase Germany's military spending.
Since then, Germany's increased military expenditure has largely been covered by a special fund of 100 billion euros outside the regular budget. Lindner insists that the government should no longer take extra-budgetary loans for special projects, such as increasing military spending.
Reduction in aid to Ukraine
According to the NYT, last month the German government decided to cut Ukraine's funding for 2025 from 7.5 billion euros to 4 billion euros. This decision was justified by the anticipated deficit due to expected income from frozen Russian assets held in Europe, in line with a plan agreed upon by the G7.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has labeled the reports about German support for Ukraine as manipulative.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed that the government has planned to allocate 4 billion euros for military aid to Kyiv next year.
German Minister for Economic Affairs and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck stated that Germany will continue to support Ukraine. Berlin also assured that it will provide everything necessary to Kyiv, even if the G7 countries do not fulfill their planned billion-dollar aid by the end of the year.
