Overview
- The coalition set a targeted industrial electricity price of 5 cents per kilowatt hour for energy‑intensive firms from 2026 to 2028, subject to EU state‑aid approval, and will reduce the air travel tax starting 1 July 2026.
- Leaders announced a Deutschlandfonds to mobilize private capital for infrastructure and start‑ups and endorsed a 2026 tender for 8 gigawatts of gas‑fired capacity to be online by 2031.
- The Bundestag’s budget committee approved the 2026 plan with nearly €98 billion in core borrowing and more than €180 billion in total new debt after late‑night adjustments.
- Key disputes remain unresolved, with an 18‑member Young Group in the Union threatening to block the pension package and no agreement yet on the combustion‑engine phase‑out.
- Economists and policy institutes criticize the measures as short‑lived and fiscally risky, urging structural reforms as projections show federal revenues strained by social, defense and interest costs by 2029.