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Translated by: Ideal Zhubi
- March 18 2025 16: 27
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The lower house of the German Parliament (Bundestag) has approved several constitutional changes that allow the next federal government to overcome debt curbs and budget restrictions, DW reports.
A total of 513 MPs voted in favor of the changes, while 207 MPs voted against. According to current laws, two-thirds of the votes (489) are required to push through constitutional changes.
The changes were implemented through votes from the CDU/CSU, SPD and Green parties, who agreed in principle on the proposals last week.
Germany's second-largest party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), opposed the constitutional changes. The far-right party claims that the changes will burden future generations in Germany.
The legislation now moves to the upper house of the German parliament (Bundesrat), where it is expected to be voted on Friday.
The conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats, with whom talks were underway to form a new government, have pushed forward a proposal to relax the public debt issue. The new proposal would allow the state to increase its debt for defense spending and a “special fund” of 500 billion euros dedicated to infrastructure reforms.
The debt ceiling was introduced in 2009 after the global financial crisis, with the aim of limiting Germany's borrowing capacity to protect future generations from the burden of large debts. But in recent years, especially after crises such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the ceiling has been seen as a drag on economic growth.
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