Negotiations surrounding the 2026 federal budget are encountering friction as two ministries are requesting significantly more funds than initially allocated, according to reports.
Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) is reportedly seeking an additional €27 billion for investments in transport infrastructure. Simultaneously, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) is requesting an increase of €3.5 billion above the figures agreed upon by the cabinet in late June when outlining the budget’s framework. Dobrindt intends to utilize these funds, ostensibly, to create an additional 40,000 positions within the Federal Police. The remaining ministries, the Bundesfinanzministerium (BMF) indicates, have largely adhered to the predetermined spending limits.
Lars Klingbeil, the Federal Finance Minister and his officials expressed surprise at these escalated demands. Both the Transport and Interior Ministries have historically faced challenges in effectively utilizing fully allocated resources. In 2024, out of a €44.4 billion budget, the Transport Ministry left €7.9 billion unspent. Similarly, the Interior Ministry had €2.7 billion remaining from a €13.3 billion budget. The collective unspent funds across all ministries totaled nearly €30 billion – a slight decrease from the €31 billion recorded in 2023, according to BMF calculations.
Klingbeil intends to address these requests through scheduled “chiefs’ talks” with his colleagues from the Union parties. He is reportedly confident in persuading them to reconsider their demands, emphasizing that other Social Democratic (SPD) departments have remained within the budgetary guidelines and prior agreements. While supplemental requests have been a recurring practice, even within the SPD – previously totaling over €17 billion for the 2025 budget – Klingbeil aims to establish a stricter adherence to agreed-upon figures.
The Finance Minister currently projects a new debt of approximately €89.3 billion for the core federal budget, with an additional €83.4 billion planned from special funds. The cabinet is scheduled to finalize the 2026 budget on July 30th.