{"text":[[{"start":8.6,"text":"The German government plans to penalise ministries that are slow to tap their share of a special €500bn infrastructure fund set up by Chancellor Friedrich Merz."}],[{"start":20,"text":"Finance minister Lars Klingbeil is considering a “bonus-malus” mechanism under which ministries that lag behind on spending could see their funds suspended and redirected elsewhere, according to a finance ministry official."}],[{"start":32.75,"text":"The proposal is intended to speed up the deployment of the 12-year infrastructure fund set up last year by Merz’s coalition to modernise Germany’s ageing transport, housing, health, communications and energy networks after decades of under-investment. But the penalties system could prove controversial as it would challenge the German tradition of ministerial autonomy. "}],[{"start":54.45,"text":"The initiative is the latest sign of Germany’s dramatic shift in economic policy after two decades of policy defined by fiscal discipline and the pursuit of balanced budgets, known as the Schwarze Null."}],[{"start":67.05,"text":"The rollout of the investment programme has been hampered by administrative problems and has led to an uneven deployment of money."}],[{"start":74.1,"text":"Last year, ministries deployed only 74 per cent of the funds allocated to them from the special fund, according to the finance ministry’s monitoring dashboard launched on Monday. "}],[{"start":84.89999999999999,"text":"Overall, the government fell €13bn short of its investment target. It underspent by €1.6bn on broadband and by €1.3bn on its plan to convert its rail network to a new European train control system. It did, however, meet its target for investments in sports infrastructure."}],[{"start":103.89999999999999,"text":"By the end of April, ministries had spent €11.2bn of the €40bn budgeted for 2026, or 28 per cent of the total. While that suggests an acceleration in spending, the pace remains below what would be expected a third of the way through the year."}],[{"start":120.69999999999999,"text":"The dashboard — a set of criteria that does not just take outflows into account but also their impact on Germany’s potential economic growth — is “not just about transparency or about mapping progress”, it is also meant to “lay the groundwork for course correction”, a finance ministry official said on Monday."}],[{"start":137.89999999999998,"text":"“There will be cases where some funds are not being disbursed, or not quickly enough, and it is a key priority for the finance ministry to overcome these bottlenecks.”"}],[{"start":148.14999999999998,"text":"The infrastructure fund is a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to revive Europe’s largest economy through a surge in public investment. "}],[{"start":156.64999999999998,"text":"Last year Merz spearheaded a loosening of Germany’s constitutional debt brake, paving the way not only for the infrastructure programme but also for plans to invest more than €750bn in defence by 2030."}],[{"start":170.45,"text":"The finance ministry estimates that, without this fiscal stimulus, Germany would not achieve its projected growth rate of 0.5 per cent this year, and would probably remain stuck in stagnation in 2027. "}],[{"start":188.54999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780363954_1454.mp3"}