The Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) and Deputy President Omid Nouripour (Greens) are advocating for the cancellation of the planned new building project for the Bundestag, specifically the Luisenblock-Ost-II extension in Berlin.
Klöckner stated to “Der Spiegel” that the issue is one of fiscal accountability within the federal budget. She argued that given tight financial resources, the Bundestag should not push forward with expensive expansions that are not absolutely necessary. She emphasized that in the current economic climate, the Bundestag must critically review its plans and establish clear priorities, noting that the guiding principle should be “what is necessary-not what is possible”. Furthermore, she stressed that if hundreds of millions of euros could be saved, applying fiscal restraint should be a matter of obvious necessity.
Nouripour echoed this sentiment, asserting that the focus must remain on essentials. According to “Der Spiegel”, he stated that the main tasks are maintaining security and undertaking necessary renovations of existing buildings. Nouripour, who chairs the Bundestag’s Construction and Spatial Commission, plans to call an extraordinary meeting of this committee by the end of May. At this session, a decision is expected regarding the recommendation to abandon the Luisenblock-Ost-II project.
Sources within the Bundestag administration revealed that shelving the project would lead to savings of at least 600 million euros-the currently budgeted “pure construction costs”-according to “Der Spiegel”. These costs for Luisenblock-Ost-II could potentially be even higher due to factors like price increases and construction risks.
The entire site for the new construction is located in the Berlin government district, north of the Spree, between Luisenstraße, the S-Bahn tracks, and Friedrichstraße station. However, the planned withdrawal does not affect the Luisenblock-Ost-I component located on the same grounds, for which construction work is scheduled to begin soon. Additionally, facilities such as Bundestag offices and soundproof conference rooms will be established there, and the handover of these areas is scheduled for 2034, according to the Bundestag administration.