Vadeful – in favor of exempting Ukraine from the debt brake
18 July 13:11
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful supported the call by Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Rim Alabali Radovan to exempt aid to Ukraine from the debt brake, just as has been done for defense spending.
“I think this is a sensible idea,” the minister said in an interview with Redaktions Netzwerk Deutschland (RND) published on Saturday, July 18. According to him, this issue needs to be discussed within the coalition and resolved as early as this fall, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
Alabali Radovan had previously advocated for a similar measure in an interview with Reuters, noting that it would expand financial resources for humanitarian aid and development. Adis Ahmetović, a foreign policy expert for the Social Democratic Party of Germany, also expressed support for this idea.
Alabali Radovan’s Position
“Last winter, thanks solely to our cooperation in the field of development aid, more than three million people continued to receive energy, electricity, and heat despite Russia’s severe attacks,” Alibali Radovan emphasized in an interview with Reuters, noting that her ministry is thereby making a key contribution to Ukraine’s resilience.
“For me, this is a matter of civil security policy. That is why we are discussing within the German government whether such expenditures for Ukraine could also qualify for a sectoral exemption in the future,” Alabali Radovan added. This would mean that such expenditures would not be subject to the financial restrictions on borrowing (the debt brake) enshrined in the German Constitution.
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Budget cuts for development
In 2025, the German government’s development aid to Ukraine amounted to 324.4 million euros.
“If we could finance this differently, it would be better,” the minister emphasized, referring to the forced cuts in the regular budget.
The debt brake was relaxed in 2025 when the cap on defense spending was lifted. At the same time, the development budget for 2027 will be cut for the fifth consecutive year. The cuts have also affected the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Against the backdrop of record spending on arms procurement, this has drawn criticism even within the coalition.
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