German cabinet hikes pandemic-related borrowing to 470 billion euros

The German cabinet approved a draft budget for next year with new debt of nearly 100 billion euros ($119 billion) to finance more COVID-19 measures, pushing up pandemic-related borrowing to 470 billion euros from 2020 to 2022, an official said on Wednesday.

The revised fiscal plans confirm a Reuters report from last Thursday and mark an increase of additional debt in 2022 of some 18 billion euros compared to earlier estimates.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is expected to present his updated budget plan for next year in a news conference later on Wednesday.