German Economy Ministry Lifts Moratorium on Spending From Climate Fund - Reports
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The German Economy Ministry has lifted the moratorium on spending from the country's flagship Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), introduced in light of the budget crisis at the end of last year, German media reported on Monday.
Applications for the ministry's funding programs can now be submitted again and existing applications can be approved, although in accordance with the provisional state budget, German broadcaster Tagesschau reported. This includes, among other things, a funding program for the industrial use of hydrogen and energy efficiency projects in industry and commerce, the report said.
The moratorium was imposed on December 1 after the Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that the move by the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats - known as the "traffic light" coalition - to transfer unused pandemic-era loans to the climate fund would violate the debt brake rule, which is a constitutionally enshrined cap on new government borrowing. As a result, 60 billion euros ($65 billion) were wiped from the government's spending plan for 2024.
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