‘The East no longer wishes to benefit from special funds’

Several minister-presidents, the leaders of regional governments in eastern Germany, have requested that the “solidarity pact” system of special funding for former East German states should not be renewed beyond the date in 2019 on which it is officially set to expire.
Launched in 1995 to guarantee financial aid to the five states of the former East Germany, following the discontinuation of the “German unity” fund in operation since 1990, the pact is considered to be outmoded.
The East-West distinction is now obsolete, since special funds could be made available to all of Germany’s regions depending on their needs starting in 2020, explains Die Welt. The Minister-President of Thuringia, Christine Lieberknecht (CDU) has presented a proposal for a “fund for Germany” to finance projects in the fields of infrastructure, energy transition, and flood damage repairs, as well as initiatives to provide more doctors for rural areas.