Policy Brief / Germany’s Federal Budget 2025 – Ukraine Analysis

At its reconciliation session on 4 September, the Budget Committee confirmed the German federal budget for 2025 but did not introduce adjustments in favour of Ukraine or humanitarian assistance. The German-Ukrainian Bureau has analysed the tangible implications for Ukraine.

The overall federal budget was set at €502.55 billion. At the same time, significant reductions were made in key areas: Germany’s contribution to the United Nations was lowered by €73.9 million to €606.91 million, while commitment authorizations for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) were reduced by €1.30 billion to €9.58 billion.

By contrast, the defence budget remains at a record level, with Chapter 14 allocations amounting to €62.31 billion and the Special Fund to €24.06 billion, albeit with noticeable shifts within individual budget lines.

The current budget decisions have several direct consequences:

• Constraints on multi-year reconstruction programmes: With reduced commitment authorisations, it becomes increasingly difficult to initiate large-scale infrastructure and energy projects in Ukraine in a legally secure and timely manner.

• Diminished multilateral influence: Lower UN contributions reduce Germany’s capacity to support coordinated humanitarian and monitoring services, many of which are critical for Ukraine.

• Operational obstacles in material transfers: Cuts in “utilisation/disposal” and related logistics items may slow or increase the cost of transferring surplus material (e.g. to Ukraine), despite overall growth in defence investments. NGOs and aid organisations are already warning of severe consequences for humanitarian aid.

  
  

This reflects a political prioritisation that is strategically questionable: a historically high defence budget on paper, yet reduced flexibility for long-term civilian stabilisation and humanitarian security. In a year marked by high winter risks, infrastructure damage, and urgent reconstruction needs in Ukraine, the reconciliation session represented the final opportunity to correct course for 2025. That opportunity was missed.

Next Steps

It is now essential that decision-makers in government and parliamentary groups recognise the practical consequences of these cuts and act swiftly before winter exacerbates the costs. The following measures are urgent:

1. Immediate re-profiling: Review BMZ allocations and reallocate funds in the short term to ensure ongoing Ukraine projects (energy, water, municipal development) do not fall behind.

2. Safeguard UN contributions: Protect multilateral budget lines, which significantly increase Germany’s leverage and impact on the ground.

3. Accelerate transfers: Use budget annotations to de-bureaucratise procedures for material transfers and deployments to partner countries, including Ukraine.

4. Enhance transparency and monitoring: Introduce a public tracker for fund utilisation, commitments, and remaining authorisations, enabling policymakers, parliaments, and civil society to identify and address gaps in real time.

   
   

For a detailed policy analysis by DUB (in English), please follow the link.