In a compromise draft budget set to be approved by the German government on Wednesday after prolonged coalition disputes, the amount allocated for supporting Ukraine is halved compared to 2024. This is reported by European Pravda referencing Reuters, which had access to the draft document.
On Wednesday, the German government is finally expected to approve the 2025 budget following extensive negotiations, which proved challenging for the coalition due to the need to keep the national debt within established limits.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner insisted that spending must be curbed after higher expenditures during the coronavirus pandemic and the energy crisis.
The draft budget reportedly allocates half the funds for military aid to Ukraine, setting aside 4 billion euros instead of 8 billion euros for 2024.
Earlier, unofficial reports indicated that the draft still had a deficit of 17 billion euros.
A few days ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the coalition's compromise on the 2025 federal budget despite criticism from the opposition.