Germany to take on new loans to finance 200 bln eur support package

BERLIN: Germany will finance an "economic defence shield" of up to 200 billion euros, set up to help shoulder soaring energy prices, by taking on new loans, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, adding that the country's public finances were stable.

The measure was necessary "to get us through this difficult time," he said at a news conference in Berlin.