After 100 days in office, on March 16, 2022, the Cabinet of Germany’s ‘traffic light’ coalition — made up of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) — adopted a second draft of the 2022 federal budget. Worth €457.6 billion (US$517.2 billion), this draft budget implies a 20.1% decrease in government spending compared to the overall federal budget for 2021, which was developed under the former government led by Angela Merkel. 

The SEEK team analyzes this new budget, its decrease, and the implications for Germany’s development cooperation in 2022 and beyond, especially against the backdrop of COVID-19 and war in Ukraine.