Finance minister says Germany preparing 150 bln euro supplementary budget

Record ID: 1465173

  • Title: Finance minister says Germany preparing 150 bln euro supplementary budget
  • Date: 21st March 2020
  • Summary: POTSDAM, GERMANY (MARCH 21, 2020) (REUTERS) GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER OLAF SCHOLZ ARRIVING TO GIVE STATEMENT CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER, OLAF SCHOLZ, SAYING: "We can already see that the reduction of social contacts is hitting the economy hard, and we must make sure during this time that businesses and jobs are not in danger. Therefore it is now necessary for the German government and the German parliament to mobilise the financial resources needed to achieve this. We have decided on a very large additional sum and will ask the German parliament to approve it so that we have all the strength we need in the coming weeks. A hundred and fifty billion is a large amount, but it gives us the flexibility that we now need." SCHOLZ SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER, OLAF SCHOLZ, SAYING: "There is now discussion about a supplementary budget of 150 billion euros. In addition we are laying the ground for various other institutions of our nation to take the steps necessary to stabilise our companies. From the last financial crisis we have a stabilisation fund which we will now reactivate to save the real economy, making sure we have enough credit authorisations for that to happen." SCHOLZ SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER, OLAF SCHOLZ, SAYING: "One thing is very clear: the challenges we now face mean we will borrow more than normal. Therefore we will incur more debt than is normally permissible according to the constitution. We have a good procedure for this: the decree will clearly indicate that this will be the case, and it will be coupled with a repayment plan." CAMERAS VARIOUS OF SCHOLZ TALKING TO MEDIA
  • Embargoed: 4th April 2020 15:49
  • Keywords: Coronavirus Germany Olaf Scholz economy finance minister
  • Location: POTSDAM, GERMANY
  • City: POTSDAM, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001C5ZVGHZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: German finance minister Olaf Scholz said on Saturday (March 21) that the government was readying a supplementary budget of 150 billion euros ($160 billion), as part of a broader funding package to tackle the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
    "A hundred and fifty billion is a large amount, but it gives us the flexibility that we now need," Scholz said.
    Scholz said that the package would require more borrowing than would normally be permissible, but that it was necessary to protect businesses and jobs.
    Senior officials earlier said that the package would include a supplementary government budget of 156 billion euros, 100 billion euros for an economic stability fund that can take direct equity stakes in companies, and 100 billion euros in credit to public-sector development bank KfW for loans to struggling businesses.
    The combined sum of possibly 356 billion euros in new debt would represent roughly 10% of Germany's gross domestic output. Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to do "whatever it takes" to counter the epidemic's economic impact and the government has promised an initial half a trillion euros in liquidity guarantees for affected businesses via KfW.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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