Funding boost would spell ‘first major step towards a new European defense community’
Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), arrives for the group's meeting at the Bundestag parliament in Berlin on March 17, 2025.
John MacDougall, AFP
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BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German lawmakers gave the green light on Tuesday for a colossal spending boost for defense and infrastructure pushed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz amid deep fears in Europe over the future strength of the transatlantic alliance.
The unprecedented fiscal package — dubbed “XXL-sized” and a cash “bazooka” by German media — could pave the way for more than one trillion euros in spending over the next decade in Europe’s top economy.
The historic parliament vote signalled a radical departure for a country famously reluctant to take on large state debt — or to spend heavily on the armed forces, given its dark World War II history.
Merz, who is expected to become Germany’s next chancellor after his CDU/CSU alliance won last month’s elections, argued that dramatic steps are needed at a time of geopolitical turmoil sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
European countries have been further unsettled by United States (US) President Donald Trump’s outreach to Russia and signals of an uncertain commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Europe’s defense.
Speaking to parliament, Merz cited Russia’s “war of aggression against Europe” and said the funding boost would spell “the first major step towards a new European defense community.”
Merz’s center-right alliance and their likely future coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have hammered out the package over recent weeks.
The plan would exempt defense spending above one percent of GDP from Germany’s strict debt rules and set up a 500-billion-euro ($545-billion) fund for infrastructure investments over 12 years.
In the short term, Berlin looked set to soon approve an additional three billion euros in military aid for Ukraine.
After heated debate in parliament — where the plan was opposed by the far right, far left and a small liberal party — it cleared the two-thirds majority needed and passed by a margin of 513 to 207 votes.
It still requires approval by the upper house on Friday, but the likely future governing partners have voiced confidence it will also clear the final hurdle.
Merz, 69, had urged lawmakers to approve the measures at a time when Trump’s contacts with Russia and hostility towards Ukraine have shaken Europe.
He argued that Russia’s war “is a war against Europe and not just a war against the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” citing cyber- and arson attacks as well as disinformation campaigns blamed on Moscow.
Merz said strong relations with the US remained “indispensable” but that Europe needed to do more to ensure its own security and Germany should play a leading role.
