Germany's Bundestag budget committee approved a record €560.9 billion budget for 2027 on Friday, with new borrowing at its second-highest level in modern German history.
Lawmakers worked into the night on late revisions to reach the agreement. The only budget with higher new debt was 2021's, at the height of the COVID pandemic.
Chief Political Anchor Gordon Repinski described "ganz tiefen inneren Unzufriedenheit" — deep inner dissatisfaction — within the parliamentary factions after the agreement.
A key point of contention is the electricity tax. The Union and SPD praised the budget despite the unresolved electricity tax cut. Criticism is massive, including from within the Union. The Greens called the lack of further relief a "Vertrauensbruch" — breach of trust — toward citizens.
The opposition AfD attacked the plan as "more debts and more taxes and more burdens for the taxpayer." Budget policy spokesman Michael Espendiller said the federal government would take out almost €400,000 every minute in new debt. He claimed the AfD could complete the budget with new debt of just €63 billion instead of roughly €210 billion. He said this would come with €44 billion in tax relief through cuts to climate protection, EU budget contributions, asylum spending, development aid, and Ukraine assistance.
Despite the record spending, some ministries faced cuts, including the pension subsidy. Earlier this week, the coalition government clashed over the 2027 budget plans, rejecting a plastic tax and seeking deeper income tax cuts.
