Bundestag supports trillion-euro investment plan. This will unlock aid to Ukraine

The Bundestag has voted in favor of incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merzʼs plan for investments in the countryʼs defense and infrastructure, amounting to a trillion euros.

This is reported by the Financial Times.

At an emergency meeting on March 18, Merz secured the support of 513 deputies, more than the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution. The bill would loosen debt limits in Germanyʼs main law. The document still needs to be approved by the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.

Economists have estimated that the countryʼs military needs more than €400 billion in investment in the coming years. Merzʼs plan stipulates that spending on defense, intelligence and cybersecurity will be exempt from the debt rule if it exceeds 1% of GDP.

Also within this clause, lawmakers give the green light to unlock €3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as Politico reported.

According to the FT, representatives of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany want not only to accelerate rearmament, but also to create a 12-year special fund of €500 billion. The funds will be used to modernize hospitals, schools, roads and energy networks.

• The Christian Democratic Union, led by Friedrich Merz, won the German election on February 23. They will need to form a coalition with another party to have a majority of votes and the ability to form a government.
• During the full-scale invasion, Merz visited Ukraine several times and met with Volodymyr Zelensky. He supports both humanitarian and military aid, but is not ready to talk about security guarantees or German peacekeepers. Unlike the Scholz government, Merz wants to allow the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

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