Economics

Germany Lifts 2021 Debt to $215 Billion to Fund Virus Aid

  • Government giving billions to businesses hit by restrictions
  • New borrowing this year significantly below allocated amount
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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Germany’s federal government will raise new borrowing to just under 180 billion euros ($215 billion) next year to help fund spending to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The finance plan for 2021 agreed Friday by lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc and their SPD coalition partners foresees new debt of 179.8 billion euros, almost double the amount initially budgeted.