Die Schuldenbremse im Wandel: Fiskalregeln zwischen Investitionsspielraum und Schuldendisziplin

Abstract

The debate on the debt brake has fundamentally shifted: while criticism once centred on too restrictive fiscal rules, concerns about a continuous rise in public debt now dominate. The 2025 reform reflected genuine political and economic pressures – rising investment needs and higher defence spending. Yet it also revealed major institutional weaknesses, particularly the lack of safeguards for additional investment and the unlimited debt financing of defence expenditure. A sustainable reform must therefore strike a balance between fiscal flexibility and credible safeguards for stable public finances, while aligning more closely with EU fiscal rules. Debt-financed investment can be economically justified if its additionality and growth effects are effectively secured. By contrast, the exemption for defence spending should remain temporary. However, no fiscal rule can replace political prioritisation.