© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People walk next to a Doner kebab and Currywurst booth at Kurfuerstendamm shopping street during Christmas season in Berlin, Germany, December 18, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s lower house of parliament on Friday approved the 2024 budget, sticking to its self-imposed debt brake.
The budget concludes months of tense negotiation over Germany’s 2024 spending. Europe’s top economy can issue 39 billion euros ($42.43 billion) in new debt, which would be within the government’s limit.
The debt brake, enshrined in the German constitution, restricts the public deficit to 0.35% of gross domestic product.
($1 = 0.9191 euros)