Top German court upholds supplementary budget's climate use

The German constitutional court in the western city of Karlsruhe has shot down an attempt by the conservative opposition to block the transfer of government budget earmarked for COVID-19 relief to climate protection funds.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) had requested an injunction to stop €60 billion (roughly $63 billion) in government credit from the 2021 budget being redirected.

Its broader challenge to the idea will still be examined by the court, but it ruled on Thursday that the funds would not be halted in the meantime.

Why did the CDU request an injunction?

The CDU argued that the credit had been approved by the Bundestag for dealing with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and not for a climate fund.

The three parties that make up the ruling coalition voted earlier this year in favor of transferring the funds.

The party also claimed that the move circumvented Germany's "debt brake" — which limits the amount of credit the government can take out. The debt brake had been suspended to tackle the emergency situation caused by the pandemic.

It called on the constitutional court to look into the legality of the transfer of funds but also asked for an injunction to prevent any credit from being spent while the court investigated.

Why did the court reject the injunction?

The court concluded that the negative impacts of any injunction could prove to be too great if it later turned out that the transfer of funds was indeed in line with the constitution.

It said that an imposed pause on climate protection investments would cause particularly severe consequences.

CDU Deputy Chairman Mathias Middelberg said in response that the party was still "confident about the outcome of the main case" and remains optimistic that the constitutional court will overturn the transfer of funds after fully considering the matter.

He also called on German Finance Minister Christian Lindner to respond to the questions over the government's process that arose in the court's response to the injunction request.

Lindner, however, welcomed the court's decision calling it a "good message for many, many people in our country." He said his ministry will now focus on the main case brought to court by the CDU.

ab/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)