Merz starts talks with Social Democrats to approve €200 billion for German defense, support for Ukraine - Bloomberg
The future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has started negotiations with the Social Democrats to allocate 200 billion euros to strengthen the country's defense capabilities and help Ukraine in the war with Russia.
This is reported by Bloomberg, Censor.NET informs.
Representatives of the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats are currently discussing ways to circumvent restrictions on government borrowing to provide the necessary funding. One option is to create a special fund for new defense spending or to expand an existing fund by €100 billion. However, these decisions require a two-thirds majority of MPs, which may be difficult to secure in the new parliament.
Merz noted that the far-right and left-wing forces have formed a blocking minority in the parliament, making it difficult to approve changes. However, it is still possible to hold a vote before the new parliament starts its work on March 24.
"Whether we should make a decision is something I will discuss with the parties that are still in the Bundestag," Merz said.
As noted, Merz and Social Democrat leader Lars Klingbeil are planning to hold telephone talks to discuss this topic in more detail and support Ukraine. Olaf Scholz also expressed his readiness to convene an emergency session of parliament to resolve the issue.
"It's a rare phenomenon when the parliament is reconvened - but it wouldn't be the first time it happened," he added.
