In Germany, Bundestag MPs approved the countryʼs state budget for 2024, according to the website of the German parliament. 388 MPs voted pro, 279 voted contra.
This year, the German government can spend €476.8 billion. Net borrowings should amount to €39.03 billion. About €7.6 billion has been earmarked for military aid to Ukraine, as Ukrinform claims.
"Ukrainians should be able to resist the aggression of Russian President Putin in the long term. This is a significant, clear signal to the Russian president, who is obviously betting on the fact that international support for Ukraine will decrease," noted government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.
According to the chairman of the budget committee Helge Braun, the debate on the German budget for 2024 lasted 68 hours and 35 minutes — almost three days.
The countryʼs budget was supposed to be adopted earlier, but the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court dated November 15, 2023 on the inadequacy of the first project proposed by the government forced the ruling coalition to review the document due to a large financial "pit". The new draft budget was considered throughout this plenary week — for 4 days, in heated debates for each ministry and department separately.
German aid to Ukraine
Germany ranks second in the volume of aid to Ukraine, the largest donor is the USA. According to the Kiel Institute of the World Economy, by the end of October 2023, Germany provided military aid to Ukraine for more than €17 billion. This is five times more than Denmark, the second largest sponsor among EU countries.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Germany has provided Ukraine with various types of weapons, including PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers, Marder BMPs, Gepard anti-aircraft guns, air defense systems, MLRS, and Leopard tanks. In March 2023, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would increase ammunition production and weapons repair capacity to further support Ukraine.
In December 2023, Germany promised that in 2024 it would double its aid to Ukraine to €8 billion. And already in January 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that in 2024, Germany would provide Ukraine with military aid worth more than €7 billion.