German parliament committee approves 2027 budget with near-record debt

Germany's Bundestag budget committee approved the 2027 federal budget after a marathon session that ended around 6 a.m. on Friday, November 13, 2026.

Budget figures

The plan includes 560.9 billion euros in total spending and just over 210 billion euros in new borrowing. That is the second-highest level of new debt in the post-war history of the Federal Republic of Germany, exceeded only by 215.4 billion euros in 2021 at the height of the COVID pandemic. Roughly one euro in three of next year's spending plan is debt-financed.

The borrowing breaks down as follows:

• Core budget net new debt: just under 123 billion euros
• Infrastructure and climate neutrality special fund: 57.8 billion euros
• Bundeswehr modernisation special fund: 29.6 billion euros
• Total new borrowing: just over 210 billion euros

Projected 2027 tax revenue is 396.2 billion euros. Core spending in the current year was 524.5 billion euros.

Debt brake compliance

The constitutional borrowing limit is formally met because credit raised inside the special funds is not counted against the debt brake, and certain defence debt is also exempt. The accounting structure, not a change in the rule, is what allows record spending to coexist with formal compliance.

The Bundestag's procedural record shows the draft law, agreed in July and delivered to parliament on 14 August, had planned 555.44 billion euros of spending and 118.73 billion euros of net borrowing. WELT reported that the final spending figure is 5.5 billion euros above the government's own draft, and core-budget net new debt is almost 123 billion euros, some 4 billion euros more than the cabinet proposed.

Electricity tax cut unfunded

The roughly 5.4 billion euros needed to cut electricity tax to the European minimum for all households and businesses is not in the plan. The CDU hopes to settle financing at the coalition committee on Tuesday, possibly using surpluses from the renewables levy account or trimming climate fund programmes. Any compromise could still enter the final readings as an amendment when the Bundestag debates the budget from 24 to 27 November. The Bundestag's record sets the named final vote on the budget law for Friday 27 November.

Political reactions

Green MP Katrin Uhlig said the tax had become a symbol of a government that announces big things and does not deliver. Green chief budgeter Sebastian Schäfer told dpa that Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil were building "a shed without foundations". Left budget spokesman Dietmar Bartsch said the plan loaded gigantic interest payments onto the young.

Christian Haase of the CDU said civil protection, defence and transport and research investment were matched by a strong welfare state, while SPD budgeter Thorsten Rudolph said the coalition had closed a 34 billion euro hole.

Why it matters

The budget sets Germany's spending course for 2027 with near-record borrowing, while leaving a major campaign promise—the electricity tax cut—unfunded. The final Bundestag vote is scheduled for 27 November, and amendments could still change the plan before then.

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Sources

• dw.com: Germany news: Parliament agrees on debt-laden 2027 budget
• streamlinefeed.co.ke: Germany's 2027 budget clears committee with near-record debt

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.