German
Bundestag, September 30, 2020, Plenarprotokoll 19/179, pp. 22570-22571.
Right
honorable Frau President. Worthy members.
You
all know the film “The Never-ending Story” – a perfect title for the troubles in
and with the Foreign Office. It could also be named “The Announcements Ministry”.
But
in order. As we of the AfD, ever again the only party, have reproved: According
to a report of the Federal Audit Office from the year 2018 – mark well: 2018 –
the Foreign Office had no knowledge concerning the processing status of its
application and proof of employment procedures [Zuwendungsverfahren und Verwendungnachweise] of around 2.5 billion
euros in the area of humanitarian aid and crisis prevention. Has anything
essentially changed? No, and we are now writing of the year 2020, the end of
September.
Nevertheless,
the Foreign Office, meanwhile and in any case with a more precise viewpoint, has
attempted – in the words of the witness, “troubled itself” – to draft a law for
the establishment of a Federal office of foreign affairs because the
applications and proofs of employment in the future are to be handled by its
newly created officials as non-ministerial duties. I repeat: Attempted!
The
Federal Audit Office presented a report on this on February 27, 2020. This
report is scarcely to be surpassed in regards its catastrophic evaluation.
First
of all, the Foreign Office has undertaken no economic examination. Which duties
shall be taken over by the new Federal office and which shall remain with the
Foreign Office itself, the draft law simply leaves open. It should also be
stated, Why is a completely new set of officials needed and which duties shall
these assume?
If it
is not then known what all the new officials shall do, it is naturally also not
known which financial or personnel effects the whole endeavor shall have. Accordingly,
the draft law allows to be ascertained neither what the personnel assignments
should be nor what effect the new establishment has on the personnel assignments
of the Foreign Office itself. In addition, the new Federal office shall be able
to form branch offices. And as to why that at all shall be and why the number
and size of these shall possibly need be unlimited, there is lacking in the
draft law any reason. Is there being set up something of a new officials’
octopus?
Ulrich Lechte (FDP): What rubbish!
Beyond
that, it is thought that a ministerial supplement could be retained for
non-ministerial basic duties – obviously not under the designation “ministerial
supplement”. Nevertheless, the Foreign Office recognized that this designation
for non-ministerial duties, those moreover outside the ministry, could indeed
be illegal.
Yet
when it is about the acquisition and retention of funding, the Federal cabinet,
along with the Foreign Office, suddenly becomes intellectually flexible and
discovers the wondrous word “Aufbauzulage”
[construction supplement]. A droll idea, thinks the Foreign Office. Since there
is still not one legal text for this wonder word, here can one’s own
inspiration be allowed to work to full extent.
And
the result of this quite individual, ja,
peculiar thought process of the Foreign Office was that the total of the
so-called construction supplement initially correspond to the full extent of the
ministerial supplement, and then over a time period of five years will be
melted down at 10 percent per year and then remain at 50 percent. That shall
naturally be for all employees. Even for the couriers. What an insult to all
honorable taxpayers. Is the Foreign Office, shall we say, a self-service store?
Thereupon
the Federal Audit Office – fully according to the law – intervened and the
Foreign Office complied by putting forward an economics examination. Yet this
was again so insufficient that the Budget Committee with a measures decision on
May 13, 2020, charged the Foreign Office to finally ascertain the personnel,
material and overhead costs and verify the financial expenditures with
serviceable figures.
And
quite remarkably: According to the measures decision, only the administration
and central office should be in Brandenburg. In other words: You all wish in
the future to create a kind of officials’ octopus;
Franziska Brantner (Greens): That is
all in the compensation!
since
the branch offices remain untouched. You wish to merely examine the so-called
construction supplement. No, ladies and gentlemen, a construction supplement is
to be rejected. Since how do you wish to substantiate that to the taxpayers?
And
last, but not least: For the fulfillment of this measures decision, the Foreign
Office allows itself time; generally understood, from May of this year. Keyword:
“Officials’ Mikado”. He who first makes a move, loses.
And
in the interim time will furthermore be expended – more or less unexamined –
around 2 billion euros per year for humanitarian aid and crisis prevention, and
no person knows where essentially this money actually lands.
Jürgen Hardt (CDU/CSU): You know
that guaranteed!
Ulrich Lechte (FDP): What nonsense!
Which
NGOs with fine-sounding names might here rejoice over German tax money? To be
continued, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank
you.
Jürgen Hardt (CDU/CSU): “Never-ending
Story”.
Alexander Lambsdorff (FDP): Fake news!
[trans: tem]
