The Cabinet has now adopted the benchmark figures for the national budget for 2016 and the financial plan for the period up to 2019. The German government will respect the goal laid out in the Coalition Agreement of producing budgets as of 2015 that make no provision for new borrowing.

The decision of the Cabinet on the benchmark figures is the basis for the production of the further breakdown of the budget within the government. The national budget for 2016 and the new financial plan for the period up to 2019 are to be adopted by the Cabinet on 1 July 2015.

Scope for growth

The German government will be using the financial scope it has worked to create over the last few years to finance growth and investment in the future. Between 2016 and 2019 it will be making available some 20 billion euros for investment, official development assistance (ODA) and to step up investment at municipal level:

• Between 2016 and 2018 a sum of 7 billion euros will be available for additional investment in public transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure, greater energy efficiency, climate change mitigation and flood protection systems and urban renewal and development.

• From 2016 to 2018 federal ministries will receive about one billion euros to offset the costs of the childcare supplement. This is to be used for forward-looking spending.

• From 2016 to 2019 about 8.3 billion euros are to be earmarked for official development assistance.

• In 2017 the federal government will contribute another 1.5 billion euros to the municipalities to give local authorities more scope for additional investment.

Supplementary budget for 2015 brings additional investment

The Cabinet also adopted a draft of the supplementary budget for 2015 and a draft Budget Supplement Act for fiscal 2015. In this way the German government is launching additional investment and supporting the financially weaker municipalities in particular.

Ten billion euros to invest in the future

The supplementary budget for 2015 regulates the distribution of the ten-billion-euro package for investments in the future which was announced by the German government in November 2014. The planning of concrete investment projects for the period 2016 to 2018 can now begin. One main thrust will be public transport infrastructure at federal level. The German government will distribute among the ministries a sum of seven billion euros for investment in the future. Another three billion euros will be shared by the federal ministries in line with their share hitherto of the costs of the new childcare supplement. They are to use the funds for forward-looking investment.

Support for financially weaker municipalities

Before the end of the year the German government will set up a special municipal investment promotion fund worth 3.5 billion euros. This fund is to support the local authorities over the period 2015 to 2018 ensuring that they can step up their spending on the maintenance, repair and conversion of local infrastructure. In addition, the federal states and local authorities will receive from the federal government 500 billion euros in 2015 alone to offset their additional spending on care and accommodation for asylum seekers.

The draft supplementary budget for 2015 makes no provision for new borrowing.