EU rejects deficit proceedings against Germany: rearmament clause will save Berlin
The European Commission will likely not open proceedings against Germany over its growing budget deficit, Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview with the Financial Times , referring to the exemption provided for by the Stability Pact, which Berlin will use due to the significant increase in defense spending.
The German deficit is set to rise significantly in the coming years, not only due to the rearmament of the Bundeswehr , but also due to the modernization of the national infrastructure , financed through an extraordinary fund of 500 billion euros covered by debt.
The room for maneuver is widened by the safeguard clause of the Stability Pact , already activated by Germany together with 19 other member states, which allows for the allocation of up to 1.5% of GDP to defense over a four-year period, without incurring violations of EU rules on public finances.
"The Commission has been calling on Germany for years to strengthen its infrastructure investments, and today we are actually seeing this in action. Our recommendation is to increase defense spending in the coming years," Dombrovskis emphasized, indicating that a final assessment of Berlin will be carried out in the spring, once the full data for 2025 is available.
La Repubblica
