Characterised by self-administration In their current form, however, social insurance schemes are not purely a state matter but are instead characterised by self-administration, i.e. Significant (joint) decision-making powers by employer associations and labour unions. This encourages social harmony and makes it easier to take economic concerns into account. As aRead More →
Position to reach the NATO target Still, Germany is in a more comfortable fiscal position to reach the NATO target than many other Eurozone partners. In France, President Emmanuel Macron finds himself between two conflicting objectives – his declared commitment to the 2% NATO target and his pledge to meetRead More →
More fiscal leeway for spending increases than many other NATO/Eurozone partners From a fiscal planning perspective, increasing defence spending towards the 2% of GDP target by 2024 appears to be not unfeasible. Germany’s fiscal account has been in a surplus since 2014 and DB forecasts it to remain positive overRead More →
Expansionary budget plans But critics of expansionary budget plans also receive backup from within European institutions. At a Brussels EIB conference titled “Doing more with less”, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, the president of the European Court of Auditors together with EIB Vice-President Alexander Stubb called for making the budget more flexible andRead More →
Defence spending to GDP ratio would remain almost unchanged However, given that nominal GDP is assumed to grow by an average of 3.2% per year between 2017 and 2021 (Finance Ministry projections), the defence spending to GDP ratio would remain almost unchanged at 1.2% (scenario 1). Extrapolating the Finance Ministry’sRead More →
An equitable system of social security and cooperative social partners One of the key elements of the German model for success is a comprehensive network of social security systems with statutory social insurance at its centre. They cover the major life risks of unemployment, illness and (industrial) accidents as wellRead More →
.Current German medium-term budget planning not towards 2% NATO target In their 2014 meeting in Wales, the then 28 members6 of NATO agreed to “aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a decade with a view to meeting their NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO’s capability shortfalls”. Based onRead More →
Defence spending increase towards the NATO Chances of a defence spending increase towards the NATO target not least depends on the outcome of the September elections and composition of the next government (coalition). Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservative party (CDU/CSU) recently reconfirmed their commitment towards the NATO spending goal.Read More →
Commissioner responsible for the budget The EU’s Commissioner responsible for the budget, Günther Oettinger, recently made a proposal on how to deal with the revenue hole left by the UK’s departure in the EU budget. According to him, 50% of the Brexit gap (which he estimates at up to EURRead More →
German public supports NATO membership and EU defence integration but majority rejects increase in defence spending The public discussion about Germany’s military role and strength within Europe has always been rather ambivalent, not least due to historical considerations that also find expression in the country’s preference for ‘soft power’ andRead More →
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