Amid the focus on Europe’s new defense projects, Germany’s own investment plans have received surprisingly little attention. By removing its budget deficit limit in March of this year, Germany opened the door for government spending that rivals some of history’s largest investment projects. It is set to far exceed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after 1945 and come close to the spending for Germany’s reunification after 1990. It is also expected to surpass US government spending since 2020 (relative to their domestic GDP), which significantly boosted the American stock market over the past five years. Recent reports suggest that nearly 90% of Germany’s investments will flow directly to German companies—a move that could put Berlin at odds with the EU.

Relative to the size of their economies, Germany’s investments are likely to exceed the post-COVID government spending by the US as well as the EU’s defense projects