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The Bundestag decided to change the basic law: in the future, the federal government should be able to finance schools with digital. Housing and public transport should also benefit.
The Bundestag has approved the amendment of the Basic Law, which should pave the way for more federal funds for education and public transport. On Thursday, Parliament approved, with the required two-thirds majority, a reform of the constitution, which will further lift the ban on cooperation in education. At a recorded vote, 580 MPs voted in favor of the law, against 87. There were three abstentions.
The constitutional amendment is a prerequisite for the school of the digital compact, whose total volume is five billion euros. Invested in the fast Internet, tablets, but also staff training.
According to Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD), the federal government can also enter the rail transport development much more quickly with the constitutional amendment. In addition, the federal government has the opportunity to provide funds for social housing.
The new article in the Basic Law states that the federal government can provide financial badistance to countries to make significant investments nationwide in the area of municipal education infrastructure. According to the previous wording of the Basic Law, such badistance was until now only possible for financially weak municipalities.
Another article specifies that, in the case of future financial resources, the federal states must supplement federal aid "at least to the same amount, with public funds for the corresponding investment area". This could be an obstacle with the approval of the Bundesrat, where a two-thirds majority must also be reached.
Scholz called on states to approve the new regulation by the required majority. The changes are not "as deep as one or the other fears," he said during the debate.
The Federal Council may consider the law at its next meeting on 14 December. It is still uncertain if this will happen.
Green Party leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt also expressed hope that the new Bundesrat regulation would win a majority. She stressed that the Greens of the Federation would have liked the complete abolition of the ban on cooperation. But now, a compromise had been found.
Christian Lindner, leader of the FDP party and leader of the faction, spoke of "good news for students and a real step forward". Green and FDP had negotiated the constitutional amendment with. The Grand Coalition relied on opposition support because it did not have a two – thirds majority in the Bundestag.
The left would have liked a complete cancellation of the ban on cooperation, said MEP Gesine Lötzsch. The group nevertheless approved the current compromise.
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