(de-news.net) – At the opening of parliamentary budget deliberations, Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) stressed the urgent need to reform Germany’s social security systems in order to preserve the country’s attractiveness as an economic location. He characterized the current and forthcoming budgets for this year and the next as preliminary exercises, suggesting that the true fiscal challenges would emerge with the financial frameworks for 2027 and 2028. Members of the opposition accused the government of misdirecting record levels of debt, arguing that these funds were not being used predominantly for new investments. The draft budget foresees expenditures amounting to roughly 524 billion euros, with net borrowing close to 98 billion euros, in addition to debt-financed special funds that further increase the fiscal burden.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katrin Reiche (CDU) presented reform proposals designed to stimulate renewed growth, contending that Germany had fallen behind its potential and required a comprehensive “fitness program” to regain strength. She underlined the urgency of lowering energy costs and ensuring the long-term viability of social systems. Reiche also advocated for a reduction in bureaucratic obstacles, an adjustment of the statutory retirement age in line with rising life expectancy, and a stronger role for private pension schemes. She warned that the severity of the economic situation had not yet been fully recognized across all sectors.

Employer President Rainer Dulger emphasized that the welfare state was expanding at a faster pace than the economy itself, thereby becoming increasingly difficult to finance. He argued that mere growth in size did not make the system more equitable but rather more burdensome. Dulger insisted that the governing coalition of the Union parties and the SPD must demonstrate greater ambition, emphasizing that the pressing structural problems could not simply be shifted into commissions and postponed indefinitely.