Germany’s Social Democrats Open to €200 Billion Defense Fund

We urgently need future investments in both domestic and foreign security, for climate protection and to support the economy,

she told German radio

A reform of the debt brake in the near future is out of the question.”

Merz, who before the election signalled his willingness to consider reforming the debt brake in view of military spending needs, appeared on Tuesday to dismiss it as an imminent possibility, saying

Very fast decisions are needed, quite specifically on security and foreign policy,

Thorsten Frei, parliamentary leader of the CDU/CSU faction, told DLF, pointing to “highly dynamic foreign policy changes”.

We now have four weeks to think about it,

he said on Monday, referring to the cut-off date of 25 March

Ines Schwerdtnerparty co-leader

There will be no votes from Die Linke (The Left) in favour of this new special fund for defence,

Schwerdtner said in a statement issued two days after her party won 8.8% of votes in a snap election

It’s a rare occurrence for parliament to reconvene — but it wouldn’t be the very first time it’s happened,

Scholz said

Friedrich Merzchancellor

Whether we should decide or must decide is something I will discuss with the parties that are still in the Bundestag,

Merz said

There is now a blocking minority on the far left and the far right,

Merz told reporters on Monday