Overview
- Former FDP members of the Bundestag have lodged a complaint in Karlsruhe against the special funds created by last year’s constitutional change, with reports differing on whether 16 or 23 plaintiffs are involved and AFP naming Wolfgang Kubicki, Florian Toncar, and Katja Hessel.
- The complainants say the amendment breaches Germany’s debt brake by enabling an explosive rise in borrowing and by pushing today’s budget costs onto future taxpayers.
- They argue the design invites diversion of money from new investments and point to the absence of a repayment plan, which they say would allow debts that never get paid down.
- The amendment authorized up to €500 billion for an infrastructure and climate fund and allows defense spending above roughly 1% of GDP to sit outside the debt-limit rule.
- The plaintiffs also attack the process as rushed by the outgoing Bundestag after the 2025 election, and the Constitutional Court has not indicated whether it will take up the case or when it might rule.