Overview

• The coalition’s committee approved an extra €3 billion from the debt‑financed infrastructure fund for Autobahn expansion after a funding review cut the transport ministry’s claimed need from €15 billion to €4.7 billion.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “Everything that is construction‑ready will be built,” a pledge that formally covers roads and rail but is being operationalized first for Autobahn projects.
• Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is reallocating money inside the Sondervermögen, including funds no longer needed for planned chip factories, with spending restricted to projects that are already fully planned.
• About €1.7 billion in road financing remains unfunded, which the government aims to cover through bureaucracy reductions, faster procedures and partial private financing, with a two‑year review to test sufficiency.
• Rail investment gaps persist with €2.3 billion officially missing through 2029 and opposition figures citing a longer‑term shortfall to 2039, and the coalition offered no concrete fix for those needs.