The German cabinet has approved a proposed 2027 national budget of €555.4 billion, with defence spending set to rise by roughly one third — from €82.2 billion in 2026 to nearly €110 billion in 2027 — financed in part by around €200 billion in new debt. The budget marks a sharp shift in German fiscal policy, following a 2024 constitutional amendment that created an exemption in the country's Schuldenbremse (a constitutional 'debt brake' that had long required near-balanced government finances) specifically for defence and security expenditure. The funds are earmarked for repairing ageing military infrastructure and equipment, as well as €11.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine; if approved by parliament, the plan would put Germany on track to meet NATO's 3.5% of GDP defence spending target by 2029, six years ahead of the agreed deadline.