Federal Cabinet to approve draft 2027 budget

The federal cabinet is set to approve the government’s draft for the 2027 budget on Monday.

The government plans to spend €555.4 billion ($634.8 billion) next year, significantly more than the current year’s €524.5 billion.

The new borrowing is expected to total more than €200 billion, according to the draft seen by news agencies. This will be a much larger increase than initially planned.

A significant spending increase is planned for Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr. The draft includes about €109.7 billion for defense – almost a third more than the 2026 budget.

The total investment will amount to €117.5 billion, approximately €40 billion more than originally planned. The increase comes after the approval of €500 billion of funds for infrastructure and a change in a rule that allows defense spending to be excluded from the borrowing limit.

Social Democrat leader and Finance Minister Lars Klingbiel defended the planned increase in new borrowing.

“You can’t defend yourself against Putin with a balanced budget,” he told public broadcaster ARD on Sunday, referring to the Russian president and his war in Ukraine.

The budget discussion is scheduled to begin in Parliament in September after the summer vacation. Final approval is expected by the end of the year.

Good morning! From the DW newsroom on the banks of the Rhine river in Bonn.

Join us as Germany’s Cabinet is expected to approve the first draft of the 2027 federal budget.

The draft envisages higher levels of borrowing and spending than the original plan, with special impetus for defence.

Meanwhile, three men are to be prosecuted over the discovery of one of Germany’s largest illegal arms caches in the western city of Rumscheid.

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