German government approves financial plan up to 2019

The German government adopted on Wednesday a financial plan for the years up to 2019.
The government also adpoted the government bill for the 2015 supplementary budget and the benchmark figures for the 2016 federal budget.
According to the draft bill, Germany's expenditure in 2015 will amount to 302.6 billion euros (322.33 billion U.S. dollars), while the annual spending will increase at a moderate pace to 334 billion euros by 2019, the end of the current financial planning period.
Germany's government expenditure will increase at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent, lower than the rate of nominal GDP growth, according to the bill.
It also pointed out that expenditure trends are in line with revenue trend forecasts that are based on the medium-term growth projection contained in the German government's 2015 annual economic report.
Moreover, no new borrowing is expected in Germany in all of the years covered by the financial planning period up to 2019.
"The benchmark figures decision opens up a new chapter in German budget policy," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble.
"We are significantly increasing investment without taking on new debt. In this way, we are improving the structure of the budget and making Germany fit for the future," he said.
In addition, the government also adopted a draft bill to promote investment by local authorities with inadequate financial resources.