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.
Germany on Wednesday gave an upbeat forecast for its public deficit this year, with the finance ministry saying it would hit 0.2 percent of gross domestic product.
Germany, Europe's powerhouse economy, will balance its public finances sooner than expected, slashing this year's projected budget deficit to 1.5 percent from 2.5 percent, the Finance Ministry announced Monday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday signed off on budgetary plans that would see Germany’s deficit drop to €27.2 billion next year and cut taxes and social security contributions in 2013.
Thanks to the booming economy and shrinking unemployment, Germany’s deficit for 2012 will likely be much lower than initially feared, sinking to €31.5 billion, according to government sources.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday said that the European Union's conservative leaders were committed to hashing out a proposal they hope will strengthen the euro.
The German economy, Europe's biggest, grew by a record 3.6 percent last year, provisional figures released on Wednesday by the national statistics office showed.
Despite revenue windfalls, Germany’s public debt has soared to record levels, with government now owing nearly €22,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected calls for tax cuts on Wednesday, saying that though the economy has rebounded, the government must still cut its deficit.
Germany has struck a compromise deal with France to avoid future Greek debt-style crises by toughening the punishment for European Union members who let their deficits spiral, media reported Monday night.
Germany said on Friday it was "confident" of cutting the deficit on its public finances to within EU limits in 2011, the first major eurozone economy to do so since the global recession.
Both the federal and state German governments received a healthy increase in tax revenue in August, a report in newspaper <i>Bild</i> said Saturday. This has been received as another sign of the country's economic recovery.
Germany’s military reportedly faces cuts that are even deeper than previously feared under provisional plans that could see defence personnel slashed by 100,000.
Joachim Gauck, the former East German civil rights activist and candidate for president, has stirred things up by criticising the government’s savings plans for not being socially fair.
The government’s plan for deep spending cuts sparked fierce debate on Tuesday, with some in the coalition defending the package while social justice advocates, unions and German cities slammed the plan as unjust.
As the dust settles on the German government's plans for a round of brutal belt-tightening, The Local breaks down the numbers and the details to see how it affects you.
As the German government scrambles to rein in the ballooning deficit, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has reportedly proposed a hike in so-called 'solidarity' surcharge - the unpopular reunification tax.
Germany has made a huge mistake in backing an emergency rescue package for eurozone countries, argues president of the Ifo economic institute Prof. Hans-Werner Sinn.
Chancellor Angela Merkel called Wednesday for a radical overhaul of Europe's fiscal rules along German lines, warning of "incalculable consequences" for the European Union if the euro were to fail.
Germany will lay out wide-ranging proposals to bolster Europe's fiscal rules on Friday, a spokesman said, declining to comment on reports Berlin would push for an EU equivalent of its own debt-limiting law.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that bringing Germany’s budget in line would entail painful spending cuts - but dismissed calls by Hessian state premier Roland Koch to slash funding on education, research and childcare.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy muscled Chancellor Angela Merkel by threatening to pull his country out of the euro currency union unless Germany helped Greece with its debt crisis, a Spanish newspaper reported Friday.
