Deputy parliamentary group chairman Mathias Middelberg (CDU) has called for the eventual elimination of the debt exemption that allows unlimited defence spending.
“At the moment, defence and security expenditures are essentially unlimited. There is no ceiling, and that cannot continue in the long run” he told the news magazine Focus. “Defence costs are not extraordinary-they are regular state expenses. Once the rearmament of the Bundeswehr is completed, they must once again be financed from routine revenues”.
Middelberg was critical of an agreement reached last year by the black‑red exploratory team. He said the arrangement was “not a happy decision” and that “its technical aspects could have been handled better”.
The CDU finance expert also urged an increase in the core budget’s investment quota. “Debt‑making must not become a regular source of income. Conversely, we should set an ambitious minimum investment quota for the future-starting with the ten percent we currently achieve and then gradually raising it” he added.
Regarding further constitutional reform of the debt brake, Middelberg does not see it as necessary. “We could also create more investment room by recalculating the economic cycle component” he said. “That component is governed by a simple law and could therefore be amended by a simple majority in the Bundestag to allow further investment leeway”.
