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Bundestag Sets 2026 Budget With Higher Spending and Borrowing

The coalition maintains the debt brake is met using exemptions plus special funds.

Overview

  • Core expenditures are set at €524.54 billion, up from a €520.5 billion draft.
  • Planned new borrowing rises to nearly €180 billion, exceeding the earlier €174.3 billion plan.
  • The Finance Ministry calculates allowable net borrowing of about €40.39 billion under the debt brake, with extra debt enabled by a sectoral exemption and special-purpose funds.
  • Allocations include roughly €3 billion more for Ukraine, lifting support to about €11.5 billion, and a larger liquidity loan for nursing insurance to €3.2 billion.
  • Parliamentary groups will brief reporters this morning, with a formal final vote scheduled for the last week of November, as Green budget lawmaker Sebastian Schäfer denounces the reliance on special funds and urges investment-led reforms.