Schwerin (dpa/mv) – The CDU has renewed its criticism of the financial management of the red and red state government. The focus is on using funds from the multibillion-dollar electric vehicle protection fund to tackle the coronavirus crisis. “Projects that have nothing to do with Corona are still being paid for by the fund. In its current form, the fund is a debt-financed shadow budget at the expense of future generations,” complained the leader of the state and state parliamentary group of the CDU Franz -Robert Liskow. From the Union’s point of view, digitization and the expansion of the Internet are prime examples of the misuse of funds from the Protection Fund.
In 2020, at the first peak of the pandemic, the country suspended the debt brake and took on a total of 2.85 billion euros of new debt to deal with the consequences of the corona crisis. This was used to finance bridging aid for the economy, clubs and culture, but also money for the expansion of the fiber optic network, the construction of new schools or a special fund for the two university medical centers in Rostock and Greifswald. According to the state government, nearly two-thirds of the funds have so far been paid off, some in the form of payback loans.
“The Corona Protection Fund contradicts the budget law and is in part clearly unconstitutional,” Liskow said. The Court of Auditors has also repeatedly warned that the fund can only be used for measures clearly related to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the left coalition ignored this, as well as the rulings of the Constitutional Court in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, i.e. in countries with similar special resources such as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Corona funds have now been deposited there.
After a complaint by the AfD, the state constitutional court in Greifswald found that the rules for the crown protection fund initially applied in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania violated the rights of the state parliament in budgetary matters. The shortcoming was eliminated by a change in the law, he said. The court did not deal with the use of funds from the protection fund itself. The AfD, leader of the plaintiff, did not have the necessary 30% approval in the Schwerin state parliament for the enforcement action required for it.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230101-99-68699/2
