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BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Germany’s coalition government has agreed to plug a 17-billion-euro ($18.32 billion) hole in its budget for 2024 by cutting climate-damaging subsidies, spending in some ministries and federal grants, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The deal, reached after a weeks of crisis talks, will enable Germany to stick to its self-imposed debt restrictions, Scholz said in a press statement, flanked by Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner.<\/p>\n
Should the situation in Ukraine, fighting off a Russian invasion, worsen, then Germany could declare an emergency situation in order to suspend the so-called debt brake and increase funding to Kyiv, Scholz said.<\/p>\n
“The government will stick to its goals … but we must do so with less money which means cuts and savings,” he said. “Such difficult budget talks usually last months, but we carried them out within a few weeks.” ($1 = 0.9278 euros) (Reporting by Miranda Murray, Madeline Chambers and Sarah Marsh, Editing by Rachel More)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n