Germany faces budget crisis as court blocks reallocation of unused pandemic funds
• Germany's top court ruled against reallocating €60B in unused pandemic debt for climate/transformation projects, causing a spending freeze and budget crisis
• The ruling throws off Germany's 2024 budget plans and financial plans until 2027 as they have €60B less to work with
• Germany has a "debt brake" policy limiting budget deficits, which restricts borrowing but is criticized for limiting investment and growth
• Spending from special off-budget funds is also now frozen, further limiting climate/green investments when Germany is already behind emissions targets
• The crisis threatens Germany's coalition government stability amidst economic shocks and public disagreements