A stark warning has been issued by Kay Scheller, President of the German Federal Audit Court (Bundesrechnungshof), regarding planned staff reductions within his agency. In a letter addressed to members of the Bundestag’s budget committee and reported by “Der Spiegel”, Scheller cautioned that the Audit Court would be unable to replace retiring employees, potentially leading to the complete loss of an entire examination department as early as 2027. The Audit Court currently employs approximately 1,000 individuals across nine examination departments.
The protest stems from the federal government’s current strategy of fiscal consolidation, which mandates reductions in personnel across federal administrations. Surprisingly, the initial draft budget for 2026 had previously exempted the Federal Audit Court – alongside several other agencies – from these personnel cuts. This shift appears to be a reversal of an earlier understanding.
According to Scheller, this initial exemption was predicated on the recognition of previous years’ cost-saving measures already achieved by the Audit Court, a commitment he claims was formalized in writing by the state secretary responsible for the federal budget.
The prospect of losing a complete examination department is proving particularly challenging given the concurrently rising volume of the federal budget under scrutiny. Scheller emphasized the increased complexity and new challenges arising in critical areas including defense projects, IT security, social security systems and railway and infrastructure development – all requiring meticulous examination.
The Federal Audit Court’s exemption is not unique; parliamentary documents reveal that the Robert Koch Institute (responsible for public health) and the Independent Oversight Council – tasked with ensuring the compliance of the Federal Intelligence Service with legal guidelines regarding foreign surveillance – are also facing impending personnel cuts. Notably, security agencies like the Federal Criminal Police Office, Federal Police and the Ministry of Defense remain shielded from these reductions.
The planned cuts to the Federal Audit Court have drawn criticism from opposition parties. Leon Eckert, Green Party budget policy spokesperson, argued that with the substantial financial volumes generated by the special fund and area exemptions, intensified scrutiny of government spending is more vital than ever. He further suggested that the blanket personnel cuts risk eroding the government’s capacity for critical oversight, fostering the perception that these cuts are deliberately undermining essential accountability mechanisms. The unfolding situation raises fundamental concerns about the independence and effectiveness of crucial control functions within the German government.