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Federal Finances: Could German Budgets Be “Stopped” Like America’s?

Federal Finances: Could German Budgets Be “Stopped” Like America’s?

When the U.S. government runs out of money again, the term “government shutdown” dominates the headlines—referring to the standstill of government business. Could a similar situation be threatened in Germany after the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court? No.

What is a “shutdown”? If members of Congress do not reach an agreement on the US budget, offices and officials will be closed, among other things. Only essential areas such as the federal police or secret services remain operational.

How is Germany different? As the fight unfolds America Every year, especially for partisan political reasons — most recently under President Joe Biden — such an emergency is impossible in this country. Basic Law in Germany (Article 111) provision is made to ensure that the State is fully operational even if the Budget Act is not passed on time. This is controlled by what is called a provisional budget.

The Central Government is empowered to incur all expenditure necessary for the maintenance of the administration and the discharge of statutory obligations until the promulgation of the Budget Act. In practice, the Union Finance Ministry can authorize specialized departments to implement the yet-to-be-approved draft budget up to a certain percentage ceiling. The US government does not have this authority in this form.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:231205-99-184772/2