The German Bundestag has formally advanced the budget for the current fiscal year. A vote on Thursday afternoon saw 324 members of parliament cast affirmative votes for the government’s budget proposal, with 269 voting against. No abstentions were recorded.
Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) defended the budget, including a new special fund, during a concluding address prior to the vote. He characterized the fund as representing a “significant paradigm shift in German financial policy” highlighting planned record investments totaling €115 billion in 2025. Klingbeil stated that, following parliamentary approval, these funds could now be released.
The 2025 budget anticipates expenditures of approximately €502.55 billion. This figure represents a reduction of €460 million compared to the government’s initial budget proposal, reflecting adjustments made during a recent review session by the Budget Committee on September 14th. Nevertheless, it still constitutes a 5.4% increase compared to the budgeted figures for 2024.
Tax revenues remain budgeted at €386.84 billion, with no changes. Other revenues have experienced a slight decrease of €460 million, totaling €33.92 billion. The net borrowing requirement within the core budget remains at €81.87 billion, unchanged from the initial proposal, alongside substantial borrowing from special funds, including the infrastructure special fund.
Alongside the budget approval, a related budget law was also passed. A key element of this law pertains to the implementation of a new budgetary rule that seeks to partially exempt security-related expenditures from the constitutional debt brake.
The budget decision for 2025 was significantly delayed due to political disagreements, resulting in the implementation of provisional budgetary management beginning at the start of the year.