Germany's Lindner calls for suspension of debt brake to avert budget crisis

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has indicated that the government plans to suspend the country's debt brake following a constitutional court ruling that deemed the repurposing of emergency COVID-19 funds for the ruling coalition's green agenda as unconstitutional. The ruling limits the government's ability to draw from special funds, forcing it to retroactively include nearly €40 billion of spending for an energy price brake in its regular budget. This has led to the suspension of the debt brake by declaring an emergency. The government will present a draft supplementary budget for 2023 and seek parliamentary approval for an "extraordinary emergency situation."