Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) has suggested that the bureaucracy and liberalization in certain areas will help to overcome the recession more quickly. “We should react more flexibly to certain bureaucratic requirements in order to give companies the opportunity to make up for lost sales, for example through extended opening hours,” said Altmaier. However, long-established standards should not be abandoned, for example in terms of sustainability goals and the high level of social security, and this should not be feared.

“We will only achieve the upswing if we all want it. For this to come about, we have to be willing to put ideology aside,” Altmaier appealed. Measures should be examined to see whether they contribute to the upswing. There are numerous options for catching up on Sundays that are open to sales, for example, or shortening planning and approval times.