08/28/2023 00:37 (att. 08/28/2023 00:37)
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner negotiated timetables ©APA/AFP
After months of wrangling, the German federal government reached an agreement on basic child safety. As the AFP news agency learned from government circles, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Family Minister Lisa Paus and Finance Minister Christian Lindner agreed on Sunday night, after hours of negotiations, the key points for the new family benefit. Details are due on Monday morning.
Paus and Lindner have been arguing for months about the amount of money for basic child safety, which from 2025 should add essential family policy services and make them more accessible. With a view to children from poor and low-income families, the Minister for Family considered that significantly higher amounts were needed than the Minister for Finance intended to provide.
In mid-August, Paus blocked passage of the Growth Opportunities Act bill in the German Federal Cabinet. Lindner’s proposal provides for tax incentives for companies worth 6.5 billion euros. The German federal government’s stated aim was to resolve the dispute over the basic safety of children by the start of the cabinet meeting at Meseberg Castle on Tuesday so that the Growth Act could be passed there.