Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s lower house of parliament has approved a historic easing of the country’s debt limit to boost defence spending and earmark €500 billion for infrastructure and measures to combat climate change.
The spending plan should free up funds for projects where German has been lagging behind its EU partners, such as in defense spending.
The vote in the Bundestag, considered a crucial test for Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz, was 513 to 207. Merz justified the planned billions in debt saying it is needed for the security of Germany, Europe and NATO.
The parties backing the measure, which include Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Social Democrats and the Greens, had to gather a two-thirds majority, or 489 votes, for the legislation to pass.
The relaxation of Germany’s strict constitutional restriction on government borrowing, known as the debt brake, will allow the uptake of unlimited credit to fund defence expenditure, civil protection, the intelligence services and cybersecurity.
It represents a massive about-face for CDU leader Merz, who had previously railed against deficit spending.
But Russia’s war against Ukraine and Washington’s increasingly antagonistic stance towards Europe are forcing Germany – and its European allies – to reckon with its massive dependence on the United States for its defence. The EU plans to mobilise € 800 billion with its ReArm Europe Plan, as announced by the Commission in the beginning of March.
The passage is likely to be welcomed not only but Ukraine but by the war-torn country’s European allies ahead of a major EU two-day summit on Thursday about defence, support for Ukraine and other topics.
The package will also release €3 billion in additional aid for Ukraine.
The €500 billion fund for infrastructure investments includes €100 billion for climate change policies – a condition set by the Greens to support the measures.
The measure now passes to the Bundesrat, or upper house, consisting of the premiers of Germany’s 16 states. There it must also achieve a two-thirds majority. (18. March)
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