BERLIN, Nov 19: The European Commission is planning a 130-billion-euro ($163bn) economic stimulus programme, a spokeswoman for the German economy ministry said on Wednesday.

“That represents one per cent of gross domestic product for each member state,” she told AFP.

“For Germany, that means 25 billion euros.”

German news weekly Der Spiegel reported earlier that the Commission would also set aside some of its own funds to arrive at the 130-billion-euro sum.

The Commission is due to present proposals to grapple with the impact of the global financial crisis on November 26.

A Commission spokesman said no decision had been taken on the stimulus package.

“It is premature to talk about the size and specific orientation of the package because the preparatory work is still underway and there has not yet been a definitive political decision,” Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told AFP.

The 15-nation eurozone confirmed last week it had fallen into recession for the first time ever, with gross domestic product in the economies using the euro falling by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter after a similar drop in the second quarter.—AFP