Skip next section Germany’s conservatives set to kick off coalition talks with SPD
March 13, 2025
Germany’s conservatives set to kick off coalition talks with SPD
Following its victory in February’s parliamentary elections, the conservative bloc led by Friedrich Merz has agreed on a number of key points in exploratory talks with the SPD.
Now, 16 working groups, each consisting of 16 representatives of the CDU, CSU and SPD, will spend 10 days negotiating the details of a joint government program. Their work would then be handed over to a negotiating group that would include the leaders of each party.
A draft coalition agreement would then be submitted to the three parties for approval. The SPD has already said it wants to consult its members on a draft agreement. Merz, who is likely to be the next chancellor, has said he plans to have the new government in place by Easter in mid-April.
https://p.dw.com/p/4riN7
<
div id=”liveblog-post-71907281″>
Skip next section What is Germany’s debt brake?
March 13, 2025
What is Germany’s debt brake?
The rules are enshrined in the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, and apply — with minor differences — both at the federal level and in the 16 states, or "Länder" in German.
The requirement was introduced during the 2009 global financial crisis. The debt brake became legally binding for the federal government in 2016 and for the states in 2020.
However, the debt brake is not absolute, at least not for the federal government. While an outright ban on debt applies to the federal states, the federal government is permitted net borrowing amounting to a maximum of 0.35% of economic output.
The Basic Law also allows the debt brake to be suspended "for natural disasters or unusual emergencies beyond governmental control and substantially harmful to the state's financial capacity."
<em>Read more here: <a class="internal-link" href="https://www.dw.com/en/what-is-germanys-debt-brake/a-67587332">What is Germany's debt brake?</a></em></p>
<div class="vjs-wrapper embed big">
<h2 aria-label="Embedded video — Germany's debt brake: All you need to know" class="headline">
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 20 20">
<g fill-rule="evenodd">
<path d="M14.114 7.599H13.5l.002 4.706h.601l4.582 3.25-.005-11.11zM11.084 4.444l-9.007.002-1.336.797.002 9.514 1.334.793 9.007.006 1.509-.799-.004-9.516z"/></g>
</svg>Germany's debt brake: All you need to know</h2>
<video id="video-70755345" controls="" playsinline="" preload="none" poster="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAABECAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII." data-id="70755345" data-posterurl="https://static.dw.com/image/65890231_605.webp" data-duration="01:52">
<source src="https://hlsvod.dw.com/i/vps/webvideos/ENG/2024/BUSI/BUSIENG241111_QWIDEBTBRAKECMS_01SMW_,AVC_480x270,AVC_512x288,AVC_640x360,AVC_960x540,AVC_1280x722,AVC_1920x1080,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8" type="application/x-mpegURL">
<source src="https://tvdownloaddw-a.akamaihd.net/vps/webvideos/ENG(2024/BUSIENG241111_QWIDEBTBRAKECMS_01SMW_)AVC_1920x1080.mp4" type="video/mp4">
<track src="https://www.dw.com/media/subtitles/70764021" srclang="en" label="ENGLISH" default="">
</video>
</div>
</div>
<p><span class="svdcmki">https://p.dw.com/p/4riMr
