Germany Hopeful EU Won’t Prevent Planned Spending Spree

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said he was ‘optimistic’ the European Commission would allow Berlin to proceed with its economic plans.

The flags of the European Union and Germany fly outside a polling station during EU parliamentary elections, in Bayrischzell, Germany, on Jun. 9, 2024. Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Germany’s new government doesn’t expect the European Union to prevent it from increasing its public spending, the country’s vice chancellor and federal minister of finance said on Monday.

“I am very optimistic and confident that we will be able to find a common path with the commission,” Lars Klingbeil said, as he headed to a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.