In the budget of 2026, there is currently a debate in Bundestag, the lower house of Parliament. The draft was presented by Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Clingbeil and will be debated for about two months before voting in late November.
It is not easy to argue. Many ministries will have to work with quite small budgets as tax revenue is suffering to cover government expenditure.
To kick the budget negotiations, Klingbill spoke of a difficult time ahead. The government, formed by the central-right block of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Center-Left Social Democratic Party (SPD), will have to take “courageous and sometimes uncomfortable decisions.” This will be provoked, it will be challenging. ,
The Ministry of Transport was not really concerned about the budget cuts being hit. Eventually, renewal of collapse infrastructure is a top priority, and the government recently launched € 500 billion ($ 587 billion) credit-funded special fund for infrastructure and climate security. “In many regions, our country is ruined by oyster. We want the excavators to work quickly,” the Finance Minister has been reliable of Klingable.
Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schneider hoped that his ministry would benefit greatly from this special discovery. Apparently, transport routes search as roads, railways and bridges, all are part of the infrastructure, and they are in poor condition.
Sick transport infrastructure
The Ministry of Transport has identified about 25,000 km (15,500 mi) highways that require repair – this is about one quarter of the entire network. The situation for highway bridges is particularly severe: approximately 5,000 bridges are agreed or re -agreed in immediate requirement of repair.
In fact, the railway network of the state-filled Deutch sister is so round that only every other train comes to its destination on time.
In the current financial year, Klingbill has allocated the Ministry of Transport from Special Fund to just € 12 billion under € 12 billion. In 2026, the figure is ready to grow more than 21 trillions. However, whether the Transport Minister Schnider did not definitely expect that Klingbil had cut its original budget from € 10 trillion.
Klingable denied that it was using the billions saved to plug holes in the budget. But there has been a strong criticism from the opposition. He has said that the government had promised that the loan would be used especially to finance new investments.
The Transport Minister has expressed anger. Not only is he will now get less money, but because he will have to face additional restrictions. Now, no new construction or expansion projects can be funded from special funds, with the exception of highway bridges which cannot be rebuilt.
However, according to SHANIEDER, their low budget is not sufficient. “We are less than 15 billion for a period from 2026 to 2029,” Schnieder estimated in an interview. fight Newspaper. He said that this wood means to stop and postpon 74 new motorway construction and expansion projects and 99 federal highway projects that have already been done. This mainly affects projects to complete the missing sections of motorway or bypass.
Transport Minister is pressurizing Bundestag
The budget committee of Bundestag has requested a list from the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Transport, all affected. SHANIEDER has presented the list and therefore added electoral districts in which they are located. This allows each member of Bundestag to be seen at a glance for what is the lack of financial planning for them, for their components and local citizens.
In a rigorous word paper to Schnideer, the Finance Minister then stated that Schnideer accepted the financial structure agreed to Previoly and no other sector is getting more investment than the transport sector. A total of € 166 billion has been given for transport investment by 2029. He said that it now depends on Schnideer to make priority and your money effectively.
However, there is a lot of resentment in places affected by construction freeze. Federal states are emphasizing that the national government continues projects employed for the construction and expansion of infrastructure.
At a parliamentary group meeting, Chancellor and CDU leader Frederick Merz promised that everything would be done to enable the biggest possible number of new construction projects.
The word magic is flexibility for this. Initial attention will be on renewal and maintenance. “In the upcoming budget, we should be a gymnast for more new roads and rail construction,” said Transport Minister Schneider at the beginning of budget ideas in Bundestag.
The SPD parliamentary group is sending mixed signals on the issue. The group’s Parliamentary Secretary, Dirk Visay, said that the principles of “maintenance before new construction” do not mean, this does not mean that all projects in the current planning phase will be abolished. However, he said that it is the responsibility of the Transport Minister to determine the priorities.
Encourage private investment
It is safe to assume that debate about new highways and expressways will not be the only controversy in budget discussions. Since the Federal Audit Office, how it handles the money of the state, it monitored, demanding more penance measures from the government. Its report on the budget of 2026 states that almost every third euro is funded. This, auditor warns, no sound is financial management and a loan can be spiral.
Meanwhile, the Chanzeller Mars has put forward the idea. “Public investment alone cannot achieve what is necessary in Germany and cannot make what we have neglected in recent years in terms of investment in our infrastructure.” Private investors are very interested in investing in German infrastructure. “Therefore there will be joint projects between public sector and private investors. We are planning to set up PPP projects with the Ministry of Transport.”
This article was original in German.
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