Schleswig-Holstein's 2026 budget: New debts and job cuts!

Schleswig-Holstein's 2026 budget: New debts and job cuts!

The financial situation in Schleswig-Holstein is becoming increasingly precarious. On July 22, 2025, Finance Minister Silke Schneider (Greens) presented the draft budget for 2026, which envisages net borrowing of 754 million euros. Loud stern.de The state government will thus almost completely exploit the constitutional debt options. A deficit of 0.92 billion euros is on the agenda for the coming year, which is not surprising given the planned expenditure of 17.81 billion euros and estimated revenues of 16.89 billion euros.

The distribution of expenses is already being discussed in Schleswig-Holstein. In the planned budget, 1.76 billion euros (9.9%) are earmarked for investments. Among other things, 90 million euros will flow into state-owned roads and 100 million euros into social housing. But the pressure to act is enormous: according to the minister, savings proposals must be developed by all ministries, and many concessions are necessary to fill the coffers.

Job cuts and loss of trust

The job cuts are a bitter pill for employees in Schleswig-Holstein. The draft budget envisages a total of 268 job cuts, mainly in the education sector. However, there is a small ray of hope: no layoffs are expected in the country, and new positions are even expected to be created in certain areas, such as public prosecutors and civil defense. Despite this positive news, the government's critics cannot be dismissed out of hand.

The opposition parties FDP, SPD and SSW are united in their criticism of the high level of new debt and the fact that the investment rate of less than 10% is considered inadequate. The decision to cut teaching positions is causing further uproar among educational institutions states NDR.

Reserves and the pension fund

An important point in the new budget draft is the planned withdrawal of 300 million euros from the pension fund. This fund has a base of 641.1 million euros. Finance Minister Schneider emphasizes that this should remain untouched, which still appears to be a shaky solution given the need for action of 343.7 million euros. The opposition criticizes these approaches and sees the government in a financial dead end.

An additional aspect is the difficult financial situation of the municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein, which are in a serious financial crisis. This became all the more urgent after the state constitutional court declared an emergency loan of 492 million euros for 2024 to be null and void. A repatriation of the money is demanded the star states.

Discussions surrounding the budget for 2026 will continue in the state parliament in September, and the supplementary budget for 2025 is expected to be presented in the fall. The balancing act between investment needs and the government's austerity pressure all too often comes to the fore - a good hand is required to master the financial challenges.