Fast-track procedure: Merz wants 200 billion euros immediately for defense

Bloomberg reports: "German Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz has begun talks with the Social Democrats to quickly approve up to 200 billion euros in special defense spending, according to a person familiar with the talks." Merz arrived at the Chancellery on Tuesday morning for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Officials from the CDU and SPD are discussing "ways to circumvent the strict limits on German national debt and free up funds for the country's ailing army, said people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous and spoke about private discussions." Merz apparently wants to "put a vote on the new package, which would be twice as high as the one approved three years ago" in the Bundestag, according to the Bloomberg source.

The aim is to counteract the acute threat posed by "Russian aggression" in Merzen's view, according to Bloomberg. The vote is to take place now because the AfD and the Left Party have a blocking minority in the new Bundestag. The government and the Greens lack the two-thirds majority "to relax the constitutional restrictions on public debt." Bloomberg: "But they could get around this problem by forcing a vote before the new legislature meets for the first time on March 24."

The Greens had already signalled their approval on Monday. No one from the SPD wanted to comment on the talks for the time being.

Thorsten Frei from the Union faction believes that a special fund for Ukraine aid can be set up quickly. He does not want to rule out "that, given the highly dynamic changes in foreign policy and the potentially increasing threat to our country, decisions will be needed very quickly, specifically in the area of ​​foreign and security policy," he said on Deutschlandfunk. Frei, however, was initially skeptical about reforming the debt brake with the majority of the old Bundestag. Merz had announced that he would start talks with the SPD, the Greens and the FDP about an immediate measure.