German lawmakers gave the green light on Tuesday for a colossal spending boost for defence 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 US President Donald Trump’s outreach to Russia and signals of an uncertain commitment to NATO and Europe’s defence.
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 defence community”.
Merz’s centre-right alliance and their likely future coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have hammered out the package over recent weeks.
The plan would exempt defence 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.
‘New era’
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 United States remained “indispensable” but that Europe needed to do more to ensure its own security and Germany should play a leading role.
The spending boost is “nothing less than the first major step towards a new European defence community” that could include non-EU members like Britain and Norway, he added.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius from the SPD justified the mega-spending by saying that “we are facing a new era for Europe, for Germany, for NATO and for future generations”.
He argued that boosting defence on the continent would strengthen the transatlantic alliance “and place it on two legs, namely North America and Europe”.
‘Peace in Europe’
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed Berlin’s move as “excellent news, because it sends a very clear message also to Europe that Germany is determined to invest massively in defence”.
NATO chief Mark Rutte wrote on X that “this sends a powerful message of leadership and commitment to our shared security”.
And French President Emmanuel Macron on a visit to Berlin congratulated Scholz “on the historic vote of the Bundestag which is good news for Germany and good news for Europe”.
Germany’s two big-tent parties — which hope to form a government by late April — rushed the package through the outgoing parliament with support from the Greens, who had demanded several key amendments.
The ecologist party had negotiated that 100 billion of the infrastructure spending be earmarked for climate-protection measures.
In the next parliament, the far-right and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the far-left Die Linke — which both opposed the plans — would have had the numbers needed to block the package.
Before the vote, Bernd Baumann of the AfD accused Merz of ignoring the will of voters by seeking to push the vote through the outgoing parliament.
Baumann charged that Merz “wants to buy himself the chancellorship from the SPD and the Greens, like in a banana republic”.
Lars Klingbeil of the SPD said that the new spending aimed to “maintain peace in Europe” — but also to “invest in advancing the economy and strengthening social cohesion” and therefore to help counter “division and polarisation”.
