On November 14, the budget committee of the German Bundestag approved the draft budget for next year in the morning, which provides 11.5 billion euros to support Ukraine. About this reports World.
After the final amendments, the committee approved a budget with spending of around 524.5 billion euros, 4 billion more than the federal government had proposed. This level of spending is only possible thanks to high levels of borrowing.
The changes regarding new borrowing have been even more ambitious: the committee has approved almost €98 billion in borrowing in the main budget alone, €8 billion more than in the government’s initial draft. This is in addition to billions in loans from special funds for the armed forces and infrastructure, so the total amount of new debt will exceed €180 billion. Despite this, the so-called “debt brake” enshrined in the Basic Law will be formally respected thanks to this year’s exceptional relaxation.
Among the final amendments, the largest was the proposal of the Ministry of Finance: Ukraine would receive an additional 3 billion euros for artillery, drones, armored vehicles, and to replace two Patriot complexes. Thus, financial support for Ukraine increases from 8.5 to 11.5 billion euros.
According to the German Ministry of Defense, this is the country’s largest contribution to strengthening the defense capabilities of a state that has fallen victim to Russian aggression. This was made possible by the easing of restrictions on defense spending.
The Bundestag is due to make a final decision on the 2026 budget during the plenary week of November 25-28. At the same time, the budget committee’s conciliation meeting is already considered a key stage on the way to its approval by parliament.
