German government reaches solution on budget crisis triggered by court ruling

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has reached a solution to a budget crisis triggered by a court ruling last month. German news agency dpa reported that the leaders of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition came to an agreement early Wednesday. They had been wrangling over money since Germany’s highest court annulled a decision to repurpose 60 billion euros ($64.7 billion) originally meant to cushion the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country. The immediate challenge was to plug a 17 billion-euro hole in next year’s budget. Details on how the three leaders agreed to solve the budget crisis after negotiating all night were expected to be presented later Wednesday.