German parliament approves 2025 budget
The German government's 2025 budget, amounting to approximately 502.5 billion euros, has sparked a heated debate among political parties. The Green Party and the Left Party have accused the federal government of cheating in budget planning, while the AfD has demanded fewer debts and proposed cuts to climate projects, EU contributions, and arms deliveries to Ukraine.
At the heart of the controversy lies the budget for work and social affairs, which accounts for over a third of the federal budget at around 190 billion euros. This significant expenditure is matched by a substantial increase in defense spending due to international political tensions.
The government aims to boost the economy with multi-billion-euro investments, with the transport ministry's budget, while decreasing by 6 billion, remaining the largest investment budget at 38.3 billion euros. A special fund totaling 500 billion euros has been approved by the Bundestag for additional investments over a period of twelve years.
The Bundeswehr's budget increases to around 62 billion euros in 2025, with an additional 24 billion euros from the special fund, totaling over 86 billion euros. This sharp increase in military spending has raised concerns, with former Bundestag member and BSW chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht warning that it threatens social peace.
Pension insurance receives around 122.5 billion euros, while unemployment benefits, including the citizens' basic income, receive around 52 billion euros. The states receive 100 billion euros from the special fund.
The Climate and Transformation Fund receives 100 billion euros from the special fund for climate protection projects. The SPD parliamentary leader, Thorsten Rudolph, defends the budget as an unprecedented investment package for comprehensive modernization, while the Green Party co-chair, Sebastian Schäfer, criticizes the use of the special fund for offering too little future perspective.
The budget for 2025 only applies for a quarter of the year, and there will be a financing gap of more than 30 billion euros as early as 2027. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) speaks of a difficult task in explaining savings measures to the citizens, and debates over tax increases and social reforms have already begun.
Additional billion-euro credits are planned from special funds for the Bundeswehr and infrastructure. The AfD co-chair, Michael Espendiller, claims the coalition has not taken the budget seriously because it will only be in effect for a short period.
The Union (CDU/CSU) aims to modernize the social state financially by better targeting aid, simplifying regulations, identifying savings potential, integrating economic and social policies, and leveraging new technologies like digitalization and AI to enhance efficiency. The SPD supports significant reforms and investments, including an investment acceleration law to ensure the rapid use of 500 billion euros from a special infrastructure fund, addressing budget gaps in the 2027 budget, and undertaking ambitious social system reforms akin to those made in the Agenda 2010 era. Both parties emphasize investment and reform, though concrete solutions for the 2027 budget gap remained under discussion as of September 2025.
Read also:
- Potential Consequences of Dismantling FEMA Vary Across States
- Railway line in Bavaria threatened by unstable slope - extensive construction site at risk
- Wind Farm Controversy on the Boundary of Laois and Kilkenny
- Puerto Rico's Climate Lawfare Campaign experiences another setback with the dismissal of its deals.
