BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government wants to ensure that no money from the federal budget flows to terrorist organizations, by spelling out such use is prohibited, according to a draft amendment to the budget seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
A paragraph on due diligence and auditing obligations is to be added to the budget act, stating that government funds “may not be used to finance terrorist activities” and “may not be granted to recipients who are terrorist organizations or support terrorist organizations”.
This amendment comes in response to the attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
“The Federal Government is thus sending a clear signal that German funds will not be misused for terrorist purposes,” said the draft submitted by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
According to the ministry, the aim is to clarify current practices, although the ministries already routinely check that funds do not fall into the wrong hands when allocating them.
The amendment is to be introduced by the coalition parties in the deliberations on the Budget Act for 2024.
(Reporting by Holger Hansen and Maria Martinez; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
