687
In spite of the crisis, the latest figures from the German Federal Office of Statistics indicate that Germany’s federal, state and local governments completed 2012 with a budget surplus. Notwithstanding the €10bn euros of additional spending to combat the euro crisis, Berlin borrowed €22.5bn, which was less than expected. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble will be able to comply with the ‘golden rule’ for balanced budgets, notes the newspaper.