Germany's outgoing parliament is considering a significant 500 billion euro fund aimed at enhancing infrastructure and defense spending. Friedrich Merz, the likely new chancellor, is pushing for this funding before the newly elected parliament convenes to ensure it's not obstructed by a potential coalition of far-right and far-left MPs. While the economic forecasts are optimistic regarding public spending, the political landscape is complicated, with the need for coalition support from the Greens, who are currently unsatisfied with the climate policy implications of the new fund. Merz emphasizes urgency in defense spending due to geopolitical tensions.
Merz has argued that raising defence spending has become a matter of urgency due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, not just for Germany, but for the whole of Europe.
Ahead of the debate on Thursday, the Greens signalled that negotiations had reached a stalemate, with senior figures citing grave flaws in the legislation, including the lack of prominence it gave to climate change policies.
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