German lawmakers approve contested cuts to farmers’ fuel subsidies and a revamped 2024 budget

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have approved cuts to fuel subsidies for farmers that prompted angry protests, along with a 2024 budget the government had to revamp after a court ruling blew a hole in its financial plans. Parliament’s lower house on Friday voted in favor of both the overhauled 476.8 billion ($516 billion) budget for Europe’s biggest economy and legislation including measures taken to fill the gap, including the subsidy cuts. The government had to rework its budget plans after Germany’s highest court annulled its decision to repurpose billions of euros originally meant to cushion the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country.