Overview

• Leaders said key points for a Bürgergeld overhaul will be agreed by year-end, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz framing it as a move toward a new basic security focused on curbing abuse and boosting labor participation.
• Merz announced a steel summit at the Chancellery to keep production in Germany and a separate dialogue on the struggling automotive sector as firms face high costs, weaker demand and foreign trade pressures.
• Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil identified at least a €30 billion hole in the 2027 federal budget and pledged a swift overall package to address it, while Merz said tax increases were not discussed.
• SPD chair and labor minister Bärbel Bas cooled expectations for Merz’s proposed €5 billion savings from Bürgergeld, arguing that higher employment would drive any sustainable reductions in social spending.
• Opposition parties and municipal associations criticized the lack of concrete fiscal measures and warned against a narrow focus on Bürgergeld, with city groups pressing for relief on soaring local social costs and faster access to infrastructure funds.