Los límites de la deuda pública según la reforma de la Ley Fundamental alemana de 2009

Abstract

Against the background of the current economic and financial crisis, the European debate on limiting the public debt and the amendment of article 135 of the Spanish Constitution, this article aims to analyze the reasons and objectives of the reform of the German federalism carried out in 2009 with special reference to the amendments related to the constraints of the public debt of the Federation and the Länder. After the presentation of the resultsof the reform of German federalism, a critical assessment will be undertaken, according to the question whether the new constitutional provisions of the Basic Law set really effective limits for the public debt or if a few years after the approval of the reform a revision should be undertaken. After the analysis, it can be confirmed that despite the criticisms and problems identified,the reform of federalism of 2009 has been a positive impetus to the federal system and the new “debt brake” provides an opportunity for greater intergenerational justice.

Keywords

• federalism
• public debt
• Germany
• Länder
• debt brake.