Constitutional challenge to the 2025/2026 budget laws and the Infrastructure special fund

The federal government set up a special fund called SVIK worth 500 billion euros, financed through borrowing and permitted to be used only for additional investments. According to studies by the ifo Institute and the German Economic Institute, in 2025 around 95 percent of these borrowed funds were not used for new investments, but instead existing spending from the core budget was simply shifted into the special fund. In addition, the formula used to check whether enough is being invested is designed in a way that makes meeting the threshold easier than constitutionally required. The Bundesverfassungsgericht is to review whether the 2025 and 2026 budget laws and the calculation rule are compatible with the Basic Law.