Stability Council

The Stability Council: securing sound public finances

The Stability Council (Stabilitätsrat) is a joint body of the German Federation (Bund) and the federal states (Länder). It was established in 2010 as part of the second stage of Germany’s federal reforms and is enshrined in Article 109a of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), Germany’s constitution. Together with Germany’s debt brake rules, the Stability Council strengthens the institutional framework for safeguarding the long-term sustainability of public budgets on the federal and Länder levels.

News

• Extraordinary Statement of the Advisory Board
  The Independent Advisory Board of the Stability Council issued an extraordinary statement on 11 October 2024.
  More
  
  
• 29th meeting of the Stability Council
  The 29th meeting of the Stability Council took take place on 6 May 2024.
  More

How the Stability Council is organised

The Stability Council is comprised of the Federal Minister of Finance, the Länder finance ministers and the Federal Minister of Economic Affairs. The Federal Minister of Finance and the chair of the Länder Finance Minister Conference co-chair the Stability Council.
More

The Stability Council's tasks

One of the Stability Council’s main tasks is to monitor the budgets of the Federation and Länder on a regular basis. The Council’s purpose is to recognize impending budgetary emergencies at an early stage so that appropriate counter-measures can be initiated in a timely manner. Furthermore, the Stability Council plays an important role with regard to compliance with the EU requirements for budgetary discipline, which also apply to Germany. In particular, the Council monitors the budgets of the Federation, Länder, local authorities and social insurance funds, to make sure that these, taken together, comply with the upper limit for the general government structural deficit of 0.5% of gross domestic product, as stipulated in the Budgetary Principles Act.
More

Advisory board

The Stability Council advisory board is an independent body of experts. It assists the Stability Council in carrying out its task of monitoring compliance with the upper limit on the general government structural deficit.
More