By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will delay its medium-term plan to reduce public debt to the European Commission until after snap elections in February, according to the country’s stability council, which coordinates federal and state finances.
The submission is part of the European Union’s new framework for keeping debt under control after the COVID-19 pandemic forced many countries to borrow massively and spend to stave off economic collapse.
“Other EU member states in similar situations are taking a similar approach,” German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies told a press conference on Thursday about the delay.
There is not a fixed date for the submission, he added, “quite simply because we do not yet know how quickly the government will be formed and how, once it has been formed, decisions on the budget will be taken.”
Kukies said the plan should include “creating reliable framework conditions for investments in the future viability of our country, so that the German economy can return to the path of growth.”
In 2024, Germany is set to be the worst performer among the Group of Seven (G7) rich democracies for a second consecutive year.
In the council meeting, federal and state representatives agreed that the preparation of balanced budgets would become increasingly difficult due to the economic and fiscal challenges facing Germany.
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Friederike Heine)
