Delivers supplementary budget in June, as per Schneider's plans. - Schneider will propose a supplementary budget in June.
Schleswig-Holstein's Finance Minister, Silke Schneider, has announced plans to present a first supplementary budget before the summer recess, following criticism from the opposition. The Green politician made this announcement during a finance committee meeting in the state parliament.
Schneider intends to keep the supplementary budget "minimally invasive," as the black-green state government initially aimed to respond to the Constitutional Court ruling with a supplementary budget in the fall. The court in Schleswig declared the authorization for taking up emergency loans in the 2024 budget unconstitutional, criticizing the lack of a debt repayment plan. The 2025 coalition also partly financed the budget with an emergency loan.
In relation to this, Schneider plans to dissolve the current emergency loan of €271 million, with around €137 million euros allocated for a battery factory by Northvolt in Heide. The remaining funds are expected to be covered through budget reductions, savings on interest expenses, and reduced supply expenses.
Furthermore, Schneider intends to refinance the emergency loans from the 2024 budget with a second supplementary budget in the fall. However, these loans will not be immediately repaid but reclassified in the budget, leaving debts outstanding. The government aims to use the projected higher debt possibilities for states to achieve this. The federal government must first make these possibilities available.
The cabinet is set to decide on the supplementary budget on June 24th, and the figures are expected to go to the state parliament at the end of June. The parliament could vote on the first supplementary budget by the end of July, before the summer break.
Background: In mid-April 2025, the state constitutional court in Schleswig ruled that the 2024 budget was unconstitutional due to insufficient explanations for emergency loans intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and devastating floods in 2023. The budget included emergency loans totaling €1.518 billion, with not all allocated funds expected to be needed. The state will likely need to reassess its financial planning and budget allocations to address the court's ruling and manage the emergency loans effectively.
- The Finance Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Silke Schneider, aims to reclassify the €271 million emergency loan within the budget, with a portion earmarked for a battery factory, as part of a strategy to reduce the overall budget and finance vocational training programs, aligning with the community policy.
- In light of the constitutional court ruling, Schneider plans to present a first supplementary budget before the summer recess, which includes refinancing the emergency loans from the 2024 budget with a second supplementary budget in the fall, while extending the debt repayment timeline through policy-and-legislation adjustments.
- Personal-finance management is crucial for managing the revised budget, with Schneider focusing on budgeting and savings from reduced supply expenses, interest expenses, and resource optimization to cover the remaining costs of the first supplementary budget, while adhering to the general-news landscape and potential political implications.
