After weeks of wrangling, the German cabinet on Wednesday finalized its 2025 budget and sent the 480.6 billion euro ($526 billion) package to parliament for approval.
The budget was the subject of weeks of tense negotiations within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s divided and unpopular three-party coalition.
The total amount of €480.6 billion is approximately €8 billion less than this year.
The budget now needs to be approved by lawmakers, with a likely vote in November.
The initial framework proposal, approved by coalition leaders earlier this month, was criticized by critics who said it did not do enough to strengthen the military and boost growth.
However, Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday called the agreement the “beginning of an economic turnaround” for Germany, as the cabinet also decided on several economic policy measures to boost recently weak growth.
