The German Constitutional Court rejected challenges Tuesday to Berlin's participation in the European Union's coronavirus recovery fund, but expressed some reservations about the massive package.
Germany, traditionally hostile to
government borrowing, will take on €180 billion in new debt in 2021 as it
grapples with the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, according to a
draft budget agreed Friday.
Germany plans to take on €166
billion in new debt next year, according to a draft bill seen by AFP, as
measures to curb the second wave of the pandemic eat into government coffers.
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that the European Union's recovery package financed by joint borrowing was a long-term measure rather than a short-term coronavirus crisis fix, contradicting Chancellor Angela Merkel.
More than 340,000 electricity customers across Germany have their power cut off each year for failing to pay bills. A new proposal from one political party aims to change this.
Berlin has been one of the main lenders to Greece during its debt crisis. While conservative parties warned that supporting Greece would come at the cost of the German taxpayer, new figures show Germany has made money on the crisis.
A "debt clock" in Berlin, run by German tax lobbyists to shame the government into reining in spending, is falling for the first time in its 22-year history.
The Greek debt crisis is back on the agenda again. With Athens needing yet more money to pay off its huge loans, Germany is once again being accused of prolonging the Hellenic tragedy.
Beneath the sheen of startups and hipsters, Berlin is a troubled city. Are politicians to blame or does it still need more time to recover from the Cold War?
Eurozone finance ministers agreed late on Tuesday night to pay out €10.3 billion to Greece so that it can make debt repayments due in the coming months.
The German government believes Greece should be granted debt relief only in 2018 after it has fully complied with its EU bailout, according to a finance ministry document seen by AFP Thursday.
The finance ministers of Germany and France said late Saturday they were optimistic of a deal soon to move Greece’s bailout ahead, reiterating that the IMF needs to be involved.
An internal government report seen by Die Welt am Sonntag predicts that Germany will have to take on uncontrollable debt if it doesn’t start making huge budget cuts now.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who has taken a hard line on a third Greek bailout, said he was "confident" his eurozone peers would reach an agreement at a meeting Friday.
At a lecture in Berlin on Monday evening, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis implored Germany and the country's other creditors to respect the course laid out by the radical-left Syriza government.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday urged speedy efforts for debt-hit Greece to reach a deal with its international creditors.
Germany reported the second-largest government surpluses as a percentage of GDP in the EU last year and was one of only four countries to stay in the black, according to a report published on Tuesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the European Union of trying to stop Greece fighting for its own national interest on Wednesday after heavy criticism of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' visit to Moscow.
Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, dismissed Greek calls for Germany to pay reparations of €278.8 billion for crimes committed during the Second World War on Tuesday.
Germany's total debt increased slightly in 2014, but because the economy grew, its proportion of overall output fell, the Bundesbank (central bank) said on Wednesday.
Germany's finance ministry revealed that it had received €360 million in interest payments from Greece since 2010 through its bailout loans to the crisis-stricken country.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Sunday Greece's new hard-left government needs "a bit of time" but is committed to implementing necessary reforms to resolve its debt crisis.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowed Friday to "start working hard" to implement vital reforms in the stricken eurozone country, after Germany's parliament approved a four month extension to its bailout.
