Bundestag votes in favour of financial package
With a two-thirds majority, the Bundestag has approved an amendment to the Basic Law, paving the way for billions of euros in investment in defence and infrastructure.
Berlin (dpa) - With a two-thirds majority, Germany’s parliament - the Bundestag - has voted to amend the Basic Law and adopt a historic multibillion-euro financial package for defence and infrastructure. Alongside the CDU, CSU and SPD, the Greens also backed the proposal. The country’s upper house, the Bundesrat, still has to approve the package on Friday, but this is thought highly likely.
CDU leader and expected future chancellor Friedrich Merz justified the planned debts by the need to ensure the security of Germany, Europe and NATO: “Our allies in NATO and the European Union are looking to us today just as much as our adversaries and the enemies of our democratic and rule-based order.”
The billions of euros are not only to be spent on Germany’s defence capabilities. Loans of up to 500 billion euros are also to be made available for investments in transport, energy grids, schools, sports facilities and climate protection.
SPD parliamentary group chair Lars Klingbeil extolled the benefits of the planned investments for citizens, saying that the package would “relieve the burden on the majority of people in their daily lives” and was an “important opportunity” to make Germany strong again.