US EditionGerman Cabinet Approves High-Borrowing Draft Budget
- Late Thursday, Germany's budget committee approved the draft spending plans with total expenditure at 524.5 billion euros and borrowing near 97.9 billion euros.
- Relying on special funds, the government designed an investment surge with a €500 billion infrastructure fund and a defence spending exemption, plus a 3 billion euro increase in Ukraine aid.
- The package also reverses an aviation tax increase, saving about 350 million euros for the aviation sector, and total investment including special funds rises to 126.7 billion euros.
- After a more than 16-hour budget committee session, total new debt including special funds exceeds 180 billion euros, a level only surpassed by the 215 billion euros pandemic peak, and critics say the coalition's approach is divisive.
- The draft heads to a full parliamentary vote on November 28, with revised plans to be passed in November under Germany's debt brake limiting borrowing to 0.35% of GDP and excluding special funds.
55 Articles
55 Articles
The session was a marathon – after 15 hours of work, the competent committee of the Bundestag approved the draft budget for 2026. The borrowing is even greater than originally planned.
Only during the Corona period did the then federal government present a budget with even more new debts. In 2026, the current coalition also wants to start with the armament of the Bundeswehr.
Shortly after 5.00 a.m. the hammer falls: the federal budget for the next year stands - only with "mega-debts", as the opposition moans.
The ministers of the government coalition sat for 15 hours in the 2026 budget resolution meeting. The result was budget shifts and higher debts.
Daily Journal
Germany unveils debt-laden budget, relief measures
The German parliament's budget committee has approved revised 2026 spending plans that include even higher debts than originally thought, lawmakers said Friday, as the government gears up for an investment splurge.
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