Senior members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition said on Monday they had agreed on a multibillion-euro economic stimulus package to help the country out of recession.
The new package will run through next year and total about 50 billion euros (US$67 billion). Coming on top of an earlier plan worth 23 billion euros passed last month — criticized at home and abroad as too cautious — the new measures amount to one of the strongest stimulus plans so far in Europe.
The parliamentary leaders of both Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats told reporters the backbone of the new program involves investing between 17 billion euros and 18 billion euros to improve railways, roads and schools. They said the package also includes tax cuts and breaks, cuts to state health care contributions and one-off bonuses of 100 euros per child and 2,500 euros per car in exchange for junking a vehicle that is at least nine years old.
“All in all, it is a package that will help get us through the financial crisis and secure jobs,” Christian Democrat parliamentary president Volker Kauder told reporters.
Monday’s agreement, while widely expected, comes after weeks of bickering between the two parties over the best way to prevent Germany’s heavily export-dependent economy from sliding further into a recession and prevent job losses.
The EU’s largest economy is driven largely by exports, which in November saw their largest monthly drop since reunification in 1990.
The government in October also established a bailout package worth up to 500 billion euros. But only a handful of banks have used the fund, in part because of strict conditions on the money, including a salary cap for top managers.
Commerzbank AG is the largest private institution to tap the fund. Two separate requests totaling 18.2 billion euros have left the German government with a 25 percent stake in Germany’s No. 2 bank.
The new plan also comes in response to criticism that the earlier measures were poorly designed and executed, as well as evidence that the economic crisis is worsening in Germany.
Franz Muentefering, leader of the center-left Social Democrats — which share power with Merkel’s party — told the daily Bild newspaper that lawmakers hope this new package will have a more decisive affect.
“We are not under the illusion that we can plug all the holes,” Muentefering said. “But we are giving people the signal: We as politicians are doing everything humanly possible.”
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
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