Bundestag panel backs about $233 bn in 2027 borrowing

Germany’s Bundestag budget committee backed the 2027 federal spending plan on Friday, Nov. 13, Deutsche Welle reported in a live blog, with new borrowing planned at just over €210 billion ($233 billion).

The package would raise core-budget spending to €560.9 billion in 2027 from €524.5 billion last year, while putting Germany’s borrowing below only the €215.4 billion taken on in 2021 during COVID.

The committee session lasted more than 15 hours and ended at around 6 a.m. in Berlin, according to DW. The agreement covers the core federal budget and borrowing through special funds for infrastructure, climate neutrality and military modernization.

DW reported that the core budget records net new debt of just under €123 billion, after €38.4 billion is treated as deductible investment linked to infrastructure, climate measures and defense. The plan also assumes tax revenue of €396.2 billion.

Outside the core budget, the package includes €57.8 billion of borrowing through the infrastructure and climate-neutrality special fund and €29.6 billion through the military modernization special fund, DW reported.

Taken together, the borrowing amounts to roughly one-third of total planned spending, according to DW. That scale matters for investors and European policymakers because Germany has long been the euro area’s fiscal anchor, with domestic debates often centered on debt restraint.

The agreement does not end political scrutiny of the package. DW reported that lawmakers were already discussing areas where they still saw scope for further changes, even as the budget document was in a form that could take effect without major complications.

The budget plan comes as Germany increases spending on infrastructure and defense while relying on special funds alongside the core federal budget. DW described the 2027 borrowing plan as the second largest in the postwar history of the Federal Republic of Germany.