Germany’s highest court annuls a decision to repurpose COVID relief funding for climate measures

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court has annulled a government decision to repurpose 60 billion euros ($65 billion) originally earmarked to cushion the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country. Wednesday’s decision creates a significant new problem for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s quarrelsome coalition. The money at stake was added retrospectively to the 2021 budget in light of the the COVID-19 pandemic, under rules that allow new borrowing in emergencies despite Germany’s strict restrictions on running up new debt. But it eventually wasn’t needed for that purpose, and Scholz’s three-party coalition decided in 2022 to put the money into what is now called its “climate and transformation fund.”