Overview

• Parliament began first readings on the double budget while the Bündnis Soziales Berlin called a mass protest for Thursday morning with several thousand participants expected and more than 100 organizations involved.
• The draft foresees €44 billion in spending for 2026 and €45 billion for 2027 with higher investments financed through federal special funds and new loans alongside savings in other areas.
• Finance Senator Stefan Evers said leaving the consolidation path is not an option and argued that shrinking fiscal space requires intensified belt‑tightening even as network and energy projects proceed.
• An Abgeordnetenhaus inquiry by the Left shows nearly two thirds of the promised support to cover public‑sector tariff increases at free providers has disappeared, prompting warnings from AWO Berlin that vulnerable groups would be hit hardest.
• Earlier savings of roughly €3 billion this year already forced service reductions and closures such as one ISA‑K counseling site, the opposition Greens and Left fault the draft for lacking a plan beyond 2027, and a final vote is targeted for December.