CHANGE? Germany votes for historic boost to defence spending.

State government representatives in the upper house, the Bundesrat, still need to approve the moves – also by a two-thirds majority – before they officially become law. That vote is set for Friday.

Friedrich Merz, the man behind these plans and who is expected to soon be confirmed as Germany’s new chancellor, told the lower house during Tuesday’s debate that the country had “felt a false sense of security” for the past decade.

“The decision we are taking today… can be nothing less than the first major step towards a new European defence community,” he said, adding that it includes countries that are “not members of the European Union”.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the vote “excellent news”.

Speaking at a press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, she said the vote “sends a very clear message to Europe that Germany is determined to invest massively in defence”.

Frederiksen meanwhile called it “fantastic news for all Europeans”.

It will be fantastic news if the bill passes the upper house and Berlin actually follows through. Even then, there’s still Germany’s ongoing deindustrialization, birth dearth, and immigration crisis to deal with.