German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said that Berlin must strive for greater independence from the US and China and announced increased investment in future technologies.
“Creating the jobs of the future in Germany is crucial, both technologically and economically. It is equally important that we become more independent and sovereign so that our future is not decided in Washington or Beijing. So that the technologists from Silicon Valley, with their dangerous ideology, do not determine the future of artificial intelligence“, Klingbeil said at a press conference after a two-day closed-door meeting of the German government at Neuhardenberg Castle in Brandenburg.
He also announced increased investment in future technologies. "We are investing more in artificial intelligence, more in data centers, more in high technology. Within the framework of a special fund, we will increase investment in research and development in 2027 by 60% compared to 2026. In this way, we are supporting artificial intelligence with the label "Made in Germany" and chips "Made in Germany", emphasized the German Finance Minister.
At the same time, he added that a little less than a year later, 50 billion euros of the special fund of 500 billion euros have already been implemented.
Last year, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat (the chamber of the German states) approved additional loans totaling 500 billion euros for investments in infrastructure and climate protection. The special fund is intended for 12 years. The federal government can invest 300 billion euros, while the states and municipalities can invest 100 billion euros. Another 100 billion euros are allocated to the Climate Fund. and transformation directly towards environmental goals.
On March 5, 2025, constitutional amendments came into force in Germany, which eased the so-called debt brake to finance rising defense spending and created a special infrastructure fund of 500 billion euros.