German forming parties want to let go of ‘debt brake’ for defense investments, constitutional amendment required

The German forming parties CDU/CSU and SPD are willing to make an exception to the Debt (‘debt brake’) for a billion -dollar investment in Defense. German media report this on Tuesday evening. The Debt is a regulation laid down in the German Constitution, which ensures that the government can only borrow money under strict conditions.

“Given the threats of freedom and peace on our continent, we must now also apply to our defense: whatever it takes”, Said CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz. According to the announced plans Would the exception to the debt brake apply to defense spending that exceed 1 percent of gross domestic product.

The parties want to submit the plan ‘within a few weeks’ to the ‘old’ Bundestag, even before the new members of the German parliament took office no later than 25 March. The plan requires a constitutional change, and therefore a two third majority. CDU/CSU and SPD therefore need voices from the Greens or the FDP. Merz has already informed those parties about the plan, he told German media on Tuesday.

The plans announced on Tuesday are a first substantive breakthrough in the negotiations between the two parties after the elections of 23 February. The parties also announce an investment of 500 billion euros in the country’s infrastructure.

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