German lawmakers expected to approve huge fund for military

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers are expected to approve a 100 billion-euro ($107 billion) special fund to strengthen the country’s military. Friday’s vote will prepare the way for a massive procurement drive three months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jolted the government into action. The fund is expected to win broad support in parliament’s lower house after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition held lengthy negotiations with the main opposition Union bloc. Scholz sought a two-thirds majority in parliament because the borrowing it requires is being anchored in the constitution, bypassing rules that limit new debt. Parliament’s upper house, which represents Germany’s state governments, will still need to approve the plan.