The East German states do not consider the federal government's relief for the former GDR special and supplementary pensions to be sufficient. In the Bundesrat, they welcomed the fact that the federal government is assuming a larger share of the costs. Saxony, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia see this step as a contribution towards the full assumption of the burden, according to a statement in the minutes.
Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) made the position of the eastern states clear: "The federal government must present a concrete step-by-step plan for this." The relief is right. "This will save Brandenburg around 63 million euros," said Woidke. "However, we eastern German states agree that this cannot be the end."
In June, Woidke had appealed to the federal government to take over the payment of pensions in full because the burden on the eastern German states from the special and supplementary pension systems of the GDR was far too high. Saxony-Anhalt Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) had called for further relief last year.
