#bundestag

#bundestag

While other world leaders address the United Nations General Assembly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is speaking as part of the Bundestag's deliberations on Germany's 2026 federal budget. Leaders of the other parliamentary groups also plan to take the floor as part of the general debate, which is traditionally used for a broad confrontation over the federal government's policies as a whole. Later in the day, the individual budgets for the foreign, defense and development ministries are scheduled.

Members of Germany's Bundestag will convene on Wednesday for their first plenary session following the summer recess. To open proceedings, Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius (SPD) and Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken (CDU) will answer questions from members of the German parliament. Their two ministries are responsible for major federal government projects. Pistorius is leading efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, while Warken is tasked with reforming hospitals, health insurance companies, and nursing care.

The Bundestag's administration has ordered deputies to immediately remove rainbow flags displayed in and around their parliamentary offices, stating that displaying flags is "fundamentally prohibited, regardless of their symbolism."