The German Bundestag debated the budget for the next year on December 9th local time. German Chancellor Merkel defended the government’s high fiscal budget and debt in 2021 and stressed that the power of the global economy is changing.
According to the IMF’s November forecast data, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and other European countries expect their economies to shrink by nearly 10% or even more this year, and the economies of the United States, Germany and other countries will shrink by 4% to 6%, but China expects to achieve a positive growth of 1.9% this year.
Merkel warned that the power of the global economy is changing under the impact of the epidemic. Under the epidemic crisis, some countries’ economies have been hit hard, while others have achieved growth. “The countries are responding to the same pandemic crisis,” Merkel stressed.
People are currently living in “special circumstances” of the coronavirus pandemic, Merkel said. Increased public debt means overdrafts and an increased burden on future generations.
But at the same time, she also stressed that Germany is a cohesive economic power, and Germany should maintain this power even in this special case.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic this year, the German Bundestag has suspended the debt ceiling, allowing the government to expand debt several times to rescue and stimulate the economy.
Germany’s total debt in 2020 reached 217.8 billion euros, and the total debt is expected to total nearly 180 billion euros in 2021 to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the economy, according to data released by the German Finance Department.
