Financial crisis in MV: Budget planning for 2026 threatens to fail due to reduced income!
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is struggling with budget problems for 2026/27. Reduced income and growing tasks require new solutions.

Financial crisis in MV: Budget planning for 2026 threatens to fail due to reduced income!
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is facing major challenges when it comes to budget planning for 2026 and 2027. The state government has to deal with shortfalls in revenue that clearly fall short of expectations. How n-tv reported, the tasks to be financed are growing while income is continually declining. This will hit the financial budget particularly hard, as the forecasts for 2026 and 2027 show that revenue will fall short of expectations by around 95 million euros and 111 million euros, respectively.
Today, July 22, 2025, a budget meeting of the red-red state government will take place in Schwerin. Towards the end of September, the state parliament is expected to debate the financial plan in its first reading. Expenditures of almost 12 billion euros are planned for the coming years. This sum exceeds the expected income and forces the use of already reduced reserves.
Financial gap and reserve adjustments
A look at the details shows that more than 350 million euros are missing to close the budget gap. Finance Minister Heiko Geue (SPD) emphasizes that the reduction in tax revenue is a key reason for this situation. Demographic developments also contribute to the challenge, as the population in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is continuously shrinking and therefore less federal aid is available. Loud NDR The additional need for action after internal adjustments is even 354 million euros.
The state government plans to close the financial holes through cuts and savings so that citizens are spared additional burdens. Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) also assures that no savings will be made in education and daycare centers, while the ripcord is being pulled elsewhere. This includes across-the-board savings in state administration personnel expenses and a reduction in material expenses in various departments.
Investments and future prospects
Despite the tense financial situation, the state government does not want to resort to new debt and plans to keep capital expenditure high. Manuela Schwesig promised investments of 1.6 to 1.7 billion euros in each of the coming years. In order to compensate for deficits in school and road construction, additional federal funds are to flow from a special infrastructure fund. Over a period of twelve years, almost two billion euros are earmarked for the northeast from this investment package.
The state parliament has already decided on a supplementary budget for 2025 to cover existing expenses, with 175 million euros being taken from the reserves. In order to stabilize the financial situation, the repayment of the Corona loans was also suspended. However, it remains unclear how a balanced budget will be achieved in the future, as the federal government expects that annual grants from the state financial equalization will fall by around 180 million euros in the future.
The current situation requires a good hand on the part of the state government in order to master the challenges and set the course for positive development in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The coming months will show whether the measures are effective and the financial goals can be realistically implemented.