Overview

• A state audit warns that Sachsen-Anhalt’s public debt will climb to about €25 billion by end-2026 and that crisis-exception provisions have been used to bypass the 2020 debt brake.
• Since the debt brake’s introduction, average annual new borrowing rose to €783 million between 2020 and 2026, up from €696 million in the 1990–2019 period.
• Audit findings reveal major investment appropriations remain largely unspent, with 2023 coal-structural funds only 10 percent utilized and most budget lines underspent by 20–25 percent.
• The federal government has formed a 15-member commission chaired by Stephan Weil, Eckhardt Rehberg and Stefan Müller to deliver constitutional debt-brake reform proposals by year-end.
• SPD representatives in the panel advocate for broader borrowing capacity for long-term projects, while CDU members, led by Thorsten Frei, insist on preserving strict borrowing limits.