(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, MAR 18 - German lawmakers on Tuesday
voted for a colossal defence and infrastructure spending package
proposed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz following
concern over the US stance on the Ukraine war and Europe's
security. Local media have labelled the plans -- which could
pave the way for more than one trillion euros in spending over
the next decade -- as a fiscal "bazooka" for Europe's top
economy. The hastily drawn plans, which represent a radical
departure for a country traditionally reluctant to take on large
amounts of debt or to spend heavily on the military, were passed
with 513 votes in favour and 207 against. Speaking to parliament
ahead of the vote, conservative Merz said it was vital to
strengthen the country in light of Russia's "war of aggression
against Europe". "It is a war against Europe and not just a war
against the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Merz said. Merz's
CDU/CSU and their likely future coalition partners, the Social
Democrats (SPD), plan to exempt defence spending from Germany's
strict debt rules and to set up a 500-billion-euro
($545-billion) fund for infrastructure investments over 12
years. As well as boosting domestic investments, the spending
package is expected to clear the way for an extra three billion
euros of support for Ukraine in 2025. Ahead of the vote,
European stocks rose and German investor sentiment posted its
biggest increase in over two years in anticipation of the
spending boost. (ANSA-AFP).
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