German budget committee agrees on 2027 budget, including near-record new borrowing
The package includes more than €210 billion in new borrowing after weeks of negotiations, with taxes and social security cuts dropped or delayed.
- Germany's budget committee finalized the 2027 budget on Friday, approving more than €210 billion in new borrowing, the second-highest level since World War Two, according to people familiar with the issue.
- Committee members in Berlin finalized the agreement after a session lasting more than 15 hours, with borrowing plans incorporating so-called "special funds" for infrastructure and defense.
- To secure the agreement, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition dropped a plastic packaging tax, delayed a sugared drinks levy until 2028, and rolled back planned cuts to low-income families' benefits.
- Budget documents show total spending of €561 billion with €62 billion for investment; the €210.4 billion in new borrowing remains just under the record €215.4 billion recorded in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The agreement effectively sets aside the "debt brake" and the "black zero," a promise not to take on new debts, with observers noting that such criticism from previous years can now be assigned to history books.
53 Articles
53 Articles
derwesten.de
Armin Laschet bursts in the Bundestag. The CDU politician is now making serious accusations against the left.
The federal budget for the coming year stands. After the last changes, the budget committee of the Bundestag approved an early morning budget with expenditures of around 560,9 billion euros. However, the final word about a possible reduction in the electricity tax has not yet been discussed with the budget decision.
The coalition plans with a record-breaking budget and huge debts. However, the money has so far been lacking, especially in the case of a promised relief for citizens and companies.
The Committee on Budgets approved the draft budget for 2027, which provides for a record expenditure of EUR 560,9 billion and with special assets of EUR 210,4 billion in new debts. For the promised reduction in electricity taxes for private households, the coalition still lacks funding.
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