Germany’s Bundestag budget committee approved a provisional 2027 federal budget totaling around €210 billion in new borrowing, as leading economics experts warn of a serious upcoming budget crisis driven by aging populations and rising interest payments.
The committee cleared the spending plan early on Friday following nearly 16 hours of intense negotiations. DW News reported that the budget foresees new debt, including loans from special funds, reaching roughly €210 billion ($231.5 billion).
Spending within the core budget climbs to a record €561 billion. Meanwhile, net borrowing in the core budget alone surges to almost €123 billion.
“This budget policy cannot be sustained in the long term,” Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo Institute in Munich, told the Sunday edition of Die Welt newspaper. He argued that spending priorities must be established immediately.
“All other spending should be frozen or, if possible, cut,” Fuest said, adding that tax rises would prove inevitable if the government fails to take action.
Jens Boysen-Hogrefe of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) expressed a similar view regarding the structural trajectory. “Owing to economic fluctuations and special effects, there may be some breathing room in individual years, but the trend is clearly negative,” he said, pointing to an aging population and mounting interest obligations.
“Additional levies are likely even with strong spending discipline,” Boysen-Hogrefe said.
Ansgar Heveling, the president of the Bundesrechnungshof—the federal audit court monitoring government financial management—urged the coalition government to step up efforts to consolidate the budget. Noting that the government finances every third euro spent through borrowing, he maintained that the state is living beyond its means.
Heveling also warned that the share of interest spending in the federal budget would double by 2020.
While fiscal planners grapple with these structural deficits, the federal calendar continues to mark solemn national anniversaries. According to calculations by Time and Date, the Remembrance Day for the Victims of National Socialism falls on Wednesday, January 27, 2027. The annual day of observance is not a public holiday in Germany, and businesses maintain normal opening hours.
| Financial Metric | Provisional 2027 Figure |
|---|---|
| Core Budget Spending | €561 billion |
| Core Budget Net Borrowing | Almost €123 billion |
| Total New Debt (Inc. Special Funds) | Around €210 billion ($231.5 billion) |
