Tax & Spend
Germany’s Fiscal Force Is Worrying Other European Nations
- EU’s Breton tells member states that support must be targeted
- Euro-area finance ministers meet in Luxembourg on Monday
Bruno Le Maire, France's finance minister, and Christian Lindner, Germany's finance minister
Photographer: Valeria Mongelli/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Germany’s plans for a giant borrowing program to shelter firms and households from surging energy prices has got other European nations worried about reopening economic divisions the bloc had managed to bridge during the Covid crisis.
Launching the 200 billion-euro ($196 billion) plan last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said measures including a lid on gas prices would put a “large protective umbrella” over Europe’s biggest economy. But it would not shield other nations who will struggle to follow as they face higher borrowing costs and larger budget deficits after the pandemic.