https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The German government's plan for significantly cutting down military aid to Ukraine, as laid out in the latest draft budget, is being met with severe criticism from both inside and outside the traffic light coalition. https://www.thelocal.de/20240819/explained-why-german-leaders-are-bashing-planned-ukraine-aid-cuts Mon, 19 Aug 2024 13:11:05 +0200 explained-why-german-leaders-are-bashing-planned-ukraine-aid-cuts Germany's parliament on Friday approved a revised 2024 budget that will reinstate strict debt limits after a shock legal ruling forced Chancellor Olaf Scholz to redraw his spending plans. https://www.thelocal.de/20240202/german-parliament-approves-controversial-2024-budget Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:24:35 +0100 german-parliament-approves-controversial-2024-budget Germany on Friday passed a 2021 budget that once again smashes its "debt brake" rule, promising to shield businesses and workers from the economic hit of the pandemic as cases continue to rise. https://www.thelocal.de/20201211/well-be-struggling-well-into-next-year-german-debt-set-to-soar-in-2021-amid-pandemic Fri, 11 Dec 2020 17:21:06 +0100 well-be-struggling-well-into-next-year-german-debt-set-to-soar-in-2021-amid-pandemic Germany plans to take on €166 billion in new debt next year, according to a draft bill seen by AFP, as measures to curb the second wave of the pandemic eat into government coffers. https://www.thelocal.de/20201124/germany-to-take-on-more-new-debt-than-expected-in-2021-2 Tue, 24 Nov 2020 10:21:48 +0100 germany-to-take-on-more-new-debt-than-expected-in-2021-2 Germany’s record federal budget surplus has renewed a fiery debate about tax cuts. Different coalitions are now proposing their own tax-relief programs, with widely different priorities. https://www.thelocal.de/20200124/demand-for-tax-cuts-grows Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:48:38 +0100 demand-for-tax-cuts-grows German economic growth plummeted in 2019, official data is expected to show Wednesday, stoking renewed debate about how to use fiscal surpluses to boost gross domestic product. https://www.thelocal.de/20200115/curtain-falls-on-germanys-golden-decade-of-growth Wed, 15 Jan 2020 10:03:14 +0100 curtain-falls-on-germanys-golden-decade-of-growth Germany faced renewed pressure on Friday to boost public spending and help revive a sputtering European economy, a day after the European Central Bank warned it had reached the limit of its powers to avert recession. https://www.thelocal.de/20190913/should-germany-give-into-pressure-and-boost-spending-to-revive-europe Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:05:58 +0200 should-germany-give-into-pressure-and-boost-spending-to-revive-europe German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz presented a 2020 budget that sticks to the country's longstanding no-new-debts "black zero" policy, defying speculation on financial markets that Berlin might borrow to fund investments. https://www.thelocal.de/20190910/germany-clings-to-no-debt-policy-in-2020-budget Tue, 10 Sep 2019 16:21:15 +0200 germany-clings-to-no-debt-policy-in-2020-budget Next year marks 30 years since East and West Germany came together. But the Interior Ministry appeared to overlook the special anniversary – and was forced to ask for €61 million to pay for reunification celebrations. https://www.thelocal.de/20190430/interior-ministry-forgets-30-years-of-german-reunification-asks-for-60million Tue, 30 Apr 2019 11:35:16 +0200 interior-ministry-forgets-30-years-of-german-reunification-asks-for-60million It was a lively day in German politics on Wednesday, as politicians debated Brexit, the budget, migrants - and even the Alternative for Germany's (AfD)suspicious party donations. https://www.thelocal.de/20181121/lively-debate-in-the-bundestag-as-german-mps-talk-brexit-the-budget-and Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:50:49 +0100 lively-debate-in-the-bundestag-as-german-mps-talk-brexit-the-budget-and France and Germany have agreed on the broad outlines of a proposed eurozone budget which they will present to EU finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, a French finance ministry source said. https://www.thelocal.de/20181117/paris-berlin-agree-on-future-eurozone-budget-french-ministry-source Sat, 17 Nov 2018 11:03:31 +0100 paris-berlin-agree-on-future-eurozone-budget-french-ministry-source Critics of government tax policy had called for the Finance Minister to signal tax cuts for middle income earners in a forecast on 2019 revenues on Thursday. But Minister Scholz said the government would stick to its current course. https://www.thelocal.de/20181026/finance-minister-refuses-to-budge-on-tax-relief Fri, 26 Oct 2018 12:29:18 +0200 finance-minister-refuses-to-budge-on-tax-relief German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered a long-awaited answer to French President Emmanuel Macron's ambitious call for European Union reforms Sunday, offering olive branches on investment and help for debt-mired eurozone member states. https://www.thelocal.de/20180603/merkel-meets-macron-half-way-on-eurozone-reforms Sun, 03 Jun 2018 14:45:14 +0200 merkel-meets-macron-half-way-on-eurozone-reforms State-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn aims to win over more customers on long-distance routes in Germany with budget-friendly offers set to be put in place later this summer. https://www.thelocal.de/20180528/deutsche-bahn-to-offer-new-budget-ticket-for-long-distance-travellers-this-summer Mon, 28 May 2018 12:42:27 +0200 deutsche-bahn-to-offer-new-budget-ticket-for-long-distance-travellers-this-summer The new German budget means more money in your pocket, according to a report in Tuesday's Rheinsiche Post. https://www.thelocal.de/20180515/new-german-budget-slightly-more-money-in-taxpayers-pockets Tue, 15 May 2018 12:30:51 +0200 new-german-budget-slightly-more-money-in-taxpayers-pockets Bickering broke out within Chancellor Angela Merkel's hard-fought coalition on Wednesday, as German budget plans left the defence and international development ministries out in the cold. https://www.thelocal.de/20180502/germany-coalition-bickers-over-military-and-aid-spending Wed, 02 May 2018 18:02:35 +0200 germany-coalition-bickers-over-military-and-aid-spending Germany's federal statistics authority on Friday revised down its reckoning of the country's government budget surplus in 2017, but the overshoot remained at record levels. https://www.thelocal.de/20180223/germany-recorded-record-budget-surplus-of-366-billion-last-year Fri, 23 Feb 2018 11:32:57 +0100 germany-recorded-record-budget-surplus-of-366-billion-last-year The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party secured the chair of the country's powerful budget committee on Tuesday, after being repeatedly shunned for top parliamentary jobs which were shared out among more established parties. https://www.thelocal.de/20180123/far-right-party-clinches-top-budget-post Tue, 23 Jan 2018 18:26:45 +0100 far-right-party-clinches-top-budget-post IMF chief Christine Lagarde has joined calls on Germany to invest in future economic growth even at the cost of relaxing its cherished budgetary discipline, raising hackles in Europe's powerhouse. https://www.thelocal.de/20180118/imf-boss-urges-germany-to-invest-more-domestically-to-secure-long-term-growth Thu, 18 Jan 2018 12:14:56 +0100 imf-boss-urges-germany-to-invest-more-domestically-to-secure-long-term-growth The German parties trying to thrash out a coalition agreement have reached an early deal to stick to the country's balanced budget, continuing former finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble's "black zero" policy. https://www.thelocal.de/20171025/first-coalition-talks-milestone-reached-as-parties-agree-on-balanced-budget Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:19:48 +0200 first-coalition-talks-milestone-reached-as-parties-agree-on-balanced-budget