Germany’s governing coalition of the Union and Social Democratic Party (SPD) have praised the finalized federal budget for the current year following a lengthy reconciliation session of the Budget Committee
Christian Haase, budgetary spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, described the budget as one of “superlatives” on Friday in Berlin He lauded the increase in military expenditure, while also highlighting the dedicated fund, dubbed the “sports billion” allocated to support municipalities facing financial difficulties However, he noted limited opportunities for influence during the committee stage due to the advanced stage of the year
Thorsten Rudolph, budgetary spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, characterized the negotiations as “intensive” He emphasized the “substantial figures” dedicated to infrastructure investments and stated that the increased defense spending signaled Germany’s commitment to its “obligations” within NATO and Europe
Both spokespersons highlighted increased funding for the World Food Programme and medical aid, secured despite overall reductions in development assistance during committee deliberations Regarding the stabilization of health insurance finances, they referred to upcoming reform proposals being developed by Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU)
The final consultations on the 2025 federal budget concluded late Thursday evening after nearly eleven hours of deliberation in a reconciliation session of the Budget Committee Parliamentarians made minor adjustments to the draft budget presented by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) The current core budget totals €5025 billion, approximately €460 million less than initially proposed in the government’s draft However, new borrowing within the core budget is expected to remain at the planned level of €818 billion
Investments saw a slight increase compared to the original government draft, rising by €4 million to reach €6273 billion Tax revenues remain unchanged at €38684 billion
A final debate on the 2025 budget law is scheduled for the week after next in the Bundestag, with a vote expected on September 19th The budgetary discussions for the current year were significantly delayed due to February’s parliamentary election and the subsequent change in government in May