Overview
- Coalition leaders from the CDU, CSU and SPD say they have agreed a 34‑point reform package covering tax relief for low and middle incomes, pension changes, health‑insurance reforms and cuts to bureaucracy and that they will push implementation forward.
- A single measure requiring an Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (medical sick note) from the first day of illness and ending telephone sick notes has drawn heavy criticism from unions, doctors and a YouGov poll showing majority public opposition.
- Senior ministers publicly defended the compromise this week, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei calling the package necessary and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil urging pragmatic implementation to avoid forcing people to see a doctor while sick.
- The cabinet is set to approve a draft federal budget for 2027 that raises core spending to about €555 billion, expands special funds and proposes roughly €203.7 billion in new borrowing driven largely by sharply higher military spending, prompting warnings about procurement inefficiency and trade‑offs for social and climate programs.
- Local public‑safety stories over the weekend included a serious car‑theft injury in Dortmund and several fatal traffic crashes in Bavaria, which regional police reported separately from the national reform and budget debate.