Germany news: Parliament agrees on debt-laden 2027 budget

Politicians in the Bundestag budget committee burned the proverbial candle heading into Friday morning, trying to finalize details of the federal government's spending plans for 2027 before the year's end.

The session took more than 15 hours, and already politicians are talking about areas where they still see room for further improvement or alteration — but the document does at least stand in such a form where it can take effect without too many complications.

Including all spending plans, in the core budget and from the so-called "special funds" for infrastructure and military modernization, new debt constitutes around a third of total spending plans.

In total, the plan is to take out new debt worth just over €210 billion ($233 billion), while taking in a little less than €400 billion in taxes.

That's the second-highest level of new debt in the post-war history of the Federal Republic of Germany. Even at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2021, new debt was only slightly higher, at €215.4 billion.

We'll break down more of the details and cover some of the reactions in later posts.

Moin! Here's hoping you slept more and better than the Bundestag's budget committee. Or if not, at least let's hope that you had more fun.

Its members worked towards the dawn in a session lasting more than 15 hours, trying to iron out the last wrinkles in spending plans for 2027.

The proverbial white smoke emerged at around 6 in the morning in Berlin, with word of a finalized agreement.

If you are tired of talk and criticism of the "debt brake" and the "black zero" (a promise not to take any new debts) in the years following the eurozone debt crisis, rest assured we can assign such chatter to the history books for now.

The borrowing plans for 2027 — if you incorporate new debt taken out as part of so-called "special funds," for instance for the military and infrastructure, rather than as part of the core budget — are the second highest in the history of post-war Germany.

The country only took out more new debt in 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic and even then it was very close indeed.

We'll bring you more news and reactions on this, and whatever else breaks around the country, as Friday develops.