Germany will be able to provide most of the 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) pledged to Ukraine even if the 2025 budget is not approved in time after the collapse of the coalition government. Sources from Germany's budget committee told Reuters, reports UNN.
The funds are mostly appropriations and therefore can be disbursed under temporary budgetary management if the budget is not passed, four sources said.
German aid to Ukraine has been cut to 4 billion euros in 2025 from about 8 billion euros in 2024, according to the draft budget for 2025.
Germany had hoped that Ukraine could meet most of its military needs with $50 billion in loans from frozen Russian assets approved by the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
But Republican Donald Trump's return to the White House has raised fears in Europe that U.S. support for Kiev could dwindle. Germany's coalition government collapsed hours after Trump's victory became clear on Wednesday when Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister Christian Lindner.
“Politically, the upheaval in the German government is the first sign, the first reaction to Trump's re-election,” said Gilles Guiboud, head of European equity strategies at AXA Investment Managers in Paris.
A likely delay in next year's budget means no spending on new projects, although some spending, such as additional aid to Ukraine, could still be approved.
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The German Cabinet agreed a budget in the summer and it was due to be approved by parliament by the end of the year, but this could now be delayed until mid-2025.