Skip next section What’s at the heart of Tuesday’s Bundestag vote?
March 18, 2025
What’s at the heart of Tuesday’s Bundestag vote?
It means that the federal government can borrow — but only within certain limits — up to 0.35% of gross domestic product (GDP), the annual economic output.
Under the proposals, the brake would be virtually nullified when it comes to spending needed for the country’s defense.
The changes mean that “federal expenditure on civil defense and civil protection, intelligence services, the protection of information technology systems, and aid to countries attacked in violation of international law,” may be financed via loans in the future.
That includes military aid to Ukraine, which is set at €4 billion ($4.6 billion) for 2025.
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Skip next section ‘We have to act fast,’ says Merz, Germany’s likely next chancellor
March 18, 2025
‘We have to act fast,’ says Merz, Germany’s likely next chancellor
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Lawmakers in Germany will vote Tuesday on a spending boost for defense and infrastructure as part of a plan put forward by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz.
The boost is a radical departure for a country traditionally reluctant to take on large amounts of debt or to spend heavily on the military, given the horrors of its Nazi past.
But Merz, 69, whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance won the most seats in February’s election, has called for swift action as concerns grow that the US’s decades-old commitment to European defense is faltering under President Donald Trump.
In an interview with public broadcaster ARD on Sunday, Merz said the “situation has worsened in recent weeks”, citing Trump’s overtures to Russia to end the Ukraine war and his wavering commitment to NATO.
“That is why we have to act fast,” Merz said.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the proposals were a “strong signal that Germany is serious about its own security, about the security of Ukraine and about the security of Europe.”
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