Overview

• Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil presented the 2026 draft budget and cautioned that closing a structural gap of more than €30 billion looms in 2027.
• Planned investment rises to a record €126.7 billion in 2026, up from €115.7 billion in 2025, with a focus on infrastructure and defense.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz told CDU/CSU lawmakers the special fund can also finance new road and rail construction, stressing that maintenance does not exclude building.
• Merz outlined extra financing routes via Autobahn-GmbH borrowing and more public–private partnerships, and he cited investor pledges totaling €900 billion as reported from the group meeting.
• Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder flagged funding gaps through 2029 of roughly €15 billion for federal highways and €2.5 billion for rail, while opposition parties criticized the plan as debt-driven and lacking priority on climate and local investment.