Debt are doubled: Klingbeil plans 2029 with 3.5 percent defense spending

The traffic light coalition broke the dispute over a few billion euros in the federal budget a few months ago. Now finance minister Lars Klingbeil has exactly this budget Without a larger government zoff set up.

He focuses on defense and investments in the infrastructureeverything without major financing gaps, as can be seen from the plans available to the German Press Agency. The fact that all of this is so silent is probably less due to the negotiating skills of the new Vice Chancellor.

In contrast to the traffic light coalition, Klingbeil can take out many billion euros in loans-and he also uses that. In this and next year the SPD politician is planning together 170 billion euros of new debts. If there were still loans of 33.3 billion in 2024, there should be well more than twice as much this year: 81.8 billion – and in 2026 then 89.3 billion.

This becomes possible because the black and red alliance by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) even before the Chancellor’s election for one Loosening of the debt brake and one 500 billion euros in special pot for infrastructure renovation worried.

Two households within a few months

It was a cold start for Klingbeil. For less than two months in office, he has already had to present two households: first the one for the current year that the traffic light was no longer ready. Since the beginning of the year, the ministries have to limit themselves to the most important. Work on the budget for 2026 is running in parallelwhich is also to be launched before the summer break in July.

The conversations with his ministerial colleagues conducted Klingbeil differently than his predecessor Christian Lindner alone, without a chancellor at the table. They should hardly have been pleasant because Almost all projects in the coalition agreement are under financing reservation – And of course every ministry considers its projects important.

It is said that in financial planning until 2029 registered wishes of the new minister Klingbeil’s plans for around 50 billion euros blown up. The Vice Chancellor “turned away” and acted down his colleagues.

The budget design for this year and the first plans for 2026 are to be decided in the cabinet this Tuesday. This year Klingbeil plans to spend 503 billion eurosabout six percent more than last year. In 2026, the budget will then increase to 519.5 billion euros.

Defense and armor

For the Bundeswehr, population protection, intelligence services and help for states that are contrary to international law like Ukraine are contrary to international law planned 75 billion euros this year. Without the loosening of the debt brake, it would have been difficult to finance. However, the change in the Basic Law enables Germany to put a lot of money into these areas theoretically indefinitely. According to calculations by the Ministry of Finance, 32.1 billion are now being financed by new loans.

Overall, Klingbeils achieves draft A NATO rate of 2.4 percent for this year of the gross domestic product – and thus fulfills the specification of two percent. In the coming years the expenses should increase gradually 3.5 percent in 2029.

In this way, the Vice Chancellor is already taking into account in his plans, which is expected to be decided at the NATO summit this week: the Allies want them Classic military spending on at least 3.5 percent of GDP And also invest in militarily usable infrastructure, so that a total of 5 percent cost.

In his own party, however, the SPD leader has to go to one larger debate about it make it. Because prominent social democrats have just called for a departure policy and have spoken out against the deployment of new American medium -range missiles in Germany and against increasing the defense budget.

Infrastructure

Second focus in the federal budget of the next few years is the Refurbishment of the dilapidated infrastructure – And connected with it Hope for more economic growth. “It is important to us that this country will be powerful again,” says the Ministry of Finance. “It has to be over with the phase of the chaste savings.”

Overall should Around 115.7 billion euros this year will be invested in the coming year 123.6 billion. This is also made possible by the new federal debt – in this case by a special fund, for which the debt brake does not apply and which is to be fed up to 500 billion euros with loans.

The money should flow over twelve years. This year Klingbeil plans to skim 37.2 billion euros from the special pot, 57.9 billion in the coming year. Above all, the Repair of bridges, streets and energy networks be paid, but it should also be Money in digitization, hospitals and housing flow. Parts of the money manage the countries, parts also flow into a pot for climate protection investments.

Problems in the future

In the budget negotiations of the traffic lights government, “need for action” was a winged word that was to rewrite financing gaps. The Ministry of Finance does not speak of this for 2025 and 2026. Only a so -called global minor edition is planned. One expects the ministries to not spend four billion of their funds this yearEight billion next year. This is considered realistic.

On the other hand, the budgets from 2027 to 2029 are likely to be more problematic. Because then, among other things, loans that the federal government recorded in corona pandemic must be repaid. In addition, the loan scope drops if the economy recovers as planned.

The cabinet should bring both households on the way this Tuesday. The budget for 2025 should be done quickly: he should be advised in the Bundestag for the first time before the summer break in mid -July. The decision is planned for mid -September. The household for 2026 is not quite as hurry: Here the cabinet only decides on cornerstones, the exact plan is to be advised on July 30th. If everything goes smoothly, the Bundestag could decide on budget 2026 in mid -December. (dpa)