Budget: Amendments totaling 500 million euros

The CDU, SPD, Greens, and Left Party have submitted amendments totaling approximately 500 million euros to Saxony’s 2027/2028 biennial budget. The four parliamentary groups announced this on Friday after the deadline for submitting amendments had passed. Previously, the CDU-SPD minority coalition and the two opposition parties had negotiated the budget.

The goal is stability for the Free State

“The talks took place in an atmosphere of trust and were characterized by a broad shared understanding of the need to take responsibility for the state and to adopt a two-year budget. The goal of ensuring stability for the Free State unites the negotiating partners,” according to a joint statement. 

Deliberation on amendments in the standing committees

The standing committees will now deliberate on the amendments to the government’s draft budget. “Especially in light of the balance of power, respect for Parliament demands that this be done with the necessary thoroughness and openness,” the statement said. Each parliamentary group sets its own priorities. In addition, there are joint projects.

However, there are still some disagreements. “There are still some issues to be clarified before the two-year budget is adopted, so the rule is: Nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon,” is the concluding message. 

Minority coalition relies on the Greens and the Left Party

The Greens and the Left Party had already helped secure a majority for the current two-year budget in Parliament. In return, they were able to push through changes to the government’s draft. The CDU and SPD are ten votes short of a majority on their own. Since the AfD does not participate in the consultation mechanism and is also excluded as a potential partner, only the BSW (14 seats), the Greens (7), and the Left Party (6) were in the running to form a majority. The coalition decided to negotiate with the Greens and the Left Party.

The Saxon government plans to spend approximately 53.5 billion euros over the next two years. This makes the total budget larger than ever before. However, Finance Minister Christian Piwarz (CDU) is deliberately avoiding referring to it as a record budget. He has repeatedly emphasized that, despite the large figures, this budget will also include cuts and reductions. The goal is to pass the budget before the end of this year.