Dobrindt: Federal budget – more money planned for police and cyber protection

Dobrindt: Federal budget – more money planned for police and cyber protection

Parliament is debating the 2027 federal budget. Interior Minister Dobrindt talks less about money and instead talks about the falling number of asylum seekers and hybrid attacks by Russia.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in the Bundestag: Under Dobrindt, a new drone defense center was founded by the federal and state governments. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa

Berlin. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has accused critics of his reform plans of putting the safety of people in Germany at risk.

In the Bundestag debate on the Interior Ministry's 2027 budget, he said they should think about whether criticism of the coalition's planned expanded investigative powers was really appropriate given the high current threat, because these "protect our freedom". The explosive drone discovered at Halle/Leipzig airport is “not a singular event”.

The Interior Ministry's budget is expected to grow by a good 950 million euros to 16.7 billion euros. The Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Police, among others, are to receive more staff. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), which is responsible for cybersecurity, should also receive more money.

The deputy SPD parliamentary group leader, Sonja Eichwede, referred to the planned additional expenditure at the Technical Relief Agency (THW). These are important for population and disaster protection.

The domestic policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group, Gottfried Curio, did not go into details of the domestic budget, but instead accused the Union and the SPD of “giving away billions abroad”, for example to Ukraine. Germany is currently the most important supporter of Ukraine, which is defending itself against the Russian war of aggression.

Sabotage

Dobrindt plans national shield against Russian sabotage

Dobrindt also did not go into details of his budget, but rather repeated his assessment that he had turned the “migration wave” into a “migration turnaround”. The number of initial asylum applications has fallen sharply since 2024.

Dietmar Bartsch from the Left said that the domestic budget was “simply irresponsible in terms of budget policy” and set the wrong priorities. He criticized cuts in political education. Alluding to the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, he asked: "Didn't you see the election results last Sunday?"

It is also wrong that “the red pencil is being applied” to integration, said Green Party domestic politician Leon Eckert. Integration courses are an important instrument so that immigrants can find their place in society and on the job market. His parliamentary group colleague, Marcel Emmerich, accused Dobrindt of providing “little substance”, giving a lot of press conferences and setting up unnecessary centers.

Under Dobrindt, a new federal and state drone defense center was founded. In June he opened the Joint Center for Countering Hybrid Threats (GAZ Hybrid).

More: German politicians demand tough response to Russian attacks