From BZ/Reuters
The German government’s debt rose to a record level in the first quarter due to high financing costs in the fight against the energy crisis.
The federal, state, municipal and municipal associations, as well as social insurance, including all extra budgets, together owed 2,406.6 billion euros. That is 38.9 billion euros or 1.6 percent more than at the end of 2022, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday. These statistics only take into account liabilities to the non-public sector, i.e. private companies in Germany and abroad.
Federal debt alone rose by 2.4 percent to 1,659.6 billion euros from January to March. “This was mainly due to the increased need for financing as a result of the current energy crisis in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” emphasized the statisticians.
The government has reserved up to 200 billion euros for electricity and gas price brakes and the stabilization of suppliers until spring 2024. The increase is mainly due to extra budgets (special funds). The Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) Energy, which was newly founded in November 2022, has the largest share of this, its debt by 22.2 billion euros to 52.4 billion euros – an increase of 73.3 percent. The debt of the WSF Corona rose by 1.2 percent to 53.0 billion. For the first time, the extra budget for the Bundeswehr also showed liabilities of 802 million euros.
Country debt reduced slightly
At the end of the first quarter, the federal states were indebted at 604.1 billion euros. That was 0.5 percent less than at the end of 2022. The strongest declines were recorded for Bavaria (-16.8 percent), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (-8.2 percent) and Baden-Württemberg (-5.0 percent). “In all three countries, the declines resulted from lower issuance of securities,” it said. On the other hand, debt increased the most in Saxony (+8.6 percent), Brandenburg (+7.2 percent) and North Rhine-Westphalia (+2.7 percent).
Contrary to the development in the federal states, the indebtedness of the municipalities and municipal associations increased. Here there was growth of 1.9 percent to 142.8 billion euros. Social security reported liabilities of 36.1 million euros, a decrease of 0.8 percent.