(Deutsche Welle) Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has faced massive criticism from Germany’s local authorities after his federal budget plans show he wants to slash their means for integrating refugees and asylum-seekers.
But at a press conference on Wednesday after a meeting of Angela Merkel’s cabinet, Scholz insisted that his plans fit in with the budgets already agreed with the local governments. “We have made over €4 billion ($4.5 billion) available this year,” Scholz said, presenting the main points of his 2020 budget, and his plans until 2023. “The question is now how we work with the room that was agreed.”
The final 2020 budget is due to be finalized in June, with Scholz planning to raise the country’s annual spending by 1.7 percent to €362.6 billion ($411.6 billion).
