Koniec hamulca długu? Wzrost niemieckich wydatków publicznych w świetle regulacji krajowych i europejskich

Adopted in spring 2025, the German fiscal package, which envisages an increase in debt-financed spending of €850 billion, signals a departure from Germany’s previously restrictive approach to public finances. This paper aims to examine the institutional changes at both supranational and national levels that paved the way for increased public spending. The analysis is based on the concept of institutional change. The study shows that fiscal space for the package was created at the EU level through institutional conversion, reflected in a more individualised and flexible application of fiscal rules to the Member States. At the national level, in turn, a process of “layering” occurred, whereby existing arrangements were supplemented with new mechanisms that enable higher spending levels. The current situation may be transitional and could lead to a deeper transformation, including a reform of the debt brake and the establishment of a pool of common expenditures for specific purposes at the EU level.