The Budget Judgement and the Future of the Debt Brake

The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling of 15 November 2023 on the second supplementary budget for 2021 has thrown the federal government’s budget planning into disarray. The supplementary budget was deemed incompatible with the debt brake. The judgement impacts not only the 2023 budget, but also subsequent budgets. It raises many questions about the future financing of government spending. Was the budget judgement foreseeable? How can the federal government draw up a constitutionally compliant budget for 2024 and subsequent years? Is a reform of the debt brake necessary and possible? What could such a reform look like?