The German government will pursue a new package of economic stimulus measures next year that will focus on infrastructure projects such as schools and roads, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday. Merkel had signalled previously that her government was likely to pursue new steps, but her comments to the Neue Presse newspaper were the first in which she discussed what the package could look like and signalled that it will definitely happen. Berlin has already pushed through measures it says are worth about 31 billion euros ($44.57 billion), but the chancellor has faced pressure at home and abroad to do more to boost Europe's largest economy as it battles recession, Reuters reported. "It's important that the federal government, states and local communities act in a coordinated way in the preparation of the new economic stimulus package in the coming weeks," Merkel said. "One focus is on investments in infrastructure, such as schools, roads, the extension of broadband networks," she added. "It's very dear to me that the development on the labour market is at the centre of our efforts." Merkel met the premiers of Germany's 16 states on Thursday, but participants did not announce details of a new stimulus package, saying representatives of all sides would meet again before Christmas.
