The apparent deal with the Greens paves the way for up to €1 trillion in new spending for defense and infrastructure.
BERLIN — Germany’s conservative Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has reached a breakthrough with the Greens on a massive spending plan to unleash hundreds of billions of euros for defense and infrastructure, people familiar with negotiations told POLITICO.
Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), struck a deal with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) earlier this month to effectively exempt defense spending from the strictures of the country’s constitutional debt brake and to create a €500 billion special fund to finance infrastructure projects outside of normal budgetary spending over the next decade.
But in order to pass the bills through parliament, Merz needs the support of Germany’s Greens, who had — until now — been withholding support. The apparent agreement today paves the way for the measures to pass in the Bundestag on Tuesday.
Details of the breakthrough with the Greens today were not yet clear, but people familiar with the negotiations said a broad agreement on the spending package had been reached.
A deal would mark a major step away from decades of Berlin’s fiscal restraint, aiming to unleash massive spending to boost defense and jumpstart Germany’s economy.
The Greens broadly agreed to Merz’s plan after securing commitments to protect climate-related spending, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
This story is being updated.
