Family benefits and motorways – new dispute over Klingbeil's budget

The SPD wants to prevent several planned cuts for families in the final negotiations on the 2027 federal budget and accuses the Union of unfunded claims in the tens of billions. The aim is to reduce the savings in housing benefit, immediate child allowance, advance maintenance payments and parental allowance as much as possible, the SPD parliamentary group said on Tuesday. To provide counter-financing, the SPD has presented proposals for dismantling outdated tax breaks and climate-damaging subsidies.

The Union, on the other hand, is demanding additional relief for electricity tax and income tax and is questioning agreed projects such as the plastic, sugar and crypto tax, the group said. The financial requirement for this amounts to a double-digit billion amount. “So far, the Union has not presented any reliable proposals on this,” the SPD accused its coalition partner. Accordingly, the SPD has reservations about using up the remaining budget reserves to finance the demands. This would exacerbate the financing problems in the coming years.

The Bundestag's budget committee wants to decide on the final changes to the 2027 budget in its adjustment meeting starting on Thursday.

The plans of Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) for the federally owned Autobahn GmbH are causing additional controversy. According to the Finance Ministry's submission for the adjustment meeting, the company will receive around two billion euros less for investments in 2027 than previously planned. This means that a total of around 2.4 billion euros would still be available. The commitment authorizations are also expected to decrease in the following years.

The Greens sharply criticized the plans. “Klingbeil is emptying the Autobahn budget, even though the new and expensive credit options for Autobahn GmbH have not even been decided yet,” said Green Party housekeeper Paula Piechotta to the German Press Agency.

The background is a planned reform of the financing of Autobahn GmbH. So far, the company has received funds from the federal budget for investments as well as operating and administrative expenses. There is also money from the debt-financed special fund to modernize the infrastructure, for example to maintain bridges.

In the future, Autobahn GmbH will be able to take out loans and issue bonds itself. It should also receive income from the truck toll. In return, the federal government's direct spending on society should decrease. The relevant government plans are currently being discussed in the Bundestag.

Piechotta accused Klingbeil of using this to put political pressure on parliament. "Otherwise, many construction projects will have to be stopped next year. This is blackmail, because the government's plans for the creditworthiness of Autobahn GmbH are controversial in the Bundestag and hardly have a majority."