The Ifo Institute in Munich has announced that companies in Germany are planning new hires despite the Corona pandemic. The industry sector in particular, and especially the electrical industry, would like to hire new staff. The service sector, especially logistics and IT companies, would also…

For a survey, the Ifo Institute in Munich asked how many employees in German companies do some or all of their work from home. In March, this was 32 percent. The institute estimates that over 50 percent of all employees could work from home. This…

The number of company bankruptcies fell to its lowest level since 1999 in 2020. As the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced, only 15,841 companies – 15.5 percent less than 2019 – filed for bankruptcy last year. In general, due to the Corona pandemic, the…

Unemployment in the Federal Republic fell by March 12th compared to the same period in February. According to figures from the Federal Employment Agency, the number of job seekers in the period under investigation was 2,827,000 – 77,000 fewer than in February. The unemployment rate…

The Federal Government would like to pay out an equity grant to companies that are hit very hard by the Corona crisis and which submit a corresponding application. In this way, the substance of the companies should be strengthened directly. Apart from that, the so-called…

The federal as well as the state ministers of agriculture have agreed on steps to implement the EU agricultural reform in Germany. The relevance of environmental requirements will be 25 percent in the future, after financial aid has so far been determined by the size…

The EU has reached an agreement with the UK and Norway on catches of fish from the North Sea. According to the EU Commission, there is a quarter less of the saithe species, around 2.5 percent less of plaice and around 7.5 percent less of…

In a video conference of the European Union, the Foreign and Interior Ministers of the member states met this week to decide how to improve cooperation with third countries. Specifically, the talks were about the questions of migration and of refugees. The EU wants to…

by Thorsten Koch In a consultation which dragged on for hours, the Federal Government and the State Governments agreed that there should be a step-by-step plan that results in easing the lockdown. The measures against Corona are to be extended until March 28th. An extension…

CDU-CSU and SPD agree on how the reform of the taxi and driving service market should be approached. Union group spokesman Lange said that the municipalities would get more powers. The Vice Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group, Bartol, has praised that cheap and new…

by Thorsten Koch Chancellor Angela Merkel has emphasized that the Corona measures could be relaxed, depending on Covid tests. Rapid tests should be a topic at the federal-state conference on March 3rd, said Merkel. There may be regional rules because of the immunization campaign and…

Deutsche Telekom wants to present an increased speed in the expansion of the fiber optic network. Gigabit speed should be possible in around 10 million households in Germany by the end of 2024. Another 1.2 million households are expected to benefit from this in 2021….

The SPD’s candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has proposed replacing the basic security, also known as Hartz-IV, with a new type of citizen’s benefit. Conditions should no longer be based on “distrust” of the social welfare offices; some sanctions should be abolished for Hartz-IV beneficiaries…

The Union parties have criticized the calls by Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz for tax increases, which the latter, SPD candidate for the office of Chancellor, wants to raise for high earners and the wealthy. “Behind Olaf Scholz’s Robin Hood rhetoric lies a program against…

The Corona lockdown lasted two and a half months for hairdressers – from December 16 last year. Nationwide, this profession can again open their shops from Monday. Garden markets, flower shops, pedicure salons and driving schools are also allowed to resume their work.

The mood with regard to consumption has shown slight improvement in Germany – despite the Corona pandemic. In February, the surveyed citizens indicated optimism in the willingness to buy and in their expectations with regard to the expected income, as reported by the Nuremberg-based consumer…

The interest group ‘Deutsche Umwelthilfe’ has spoken out in favor of the EU Commission striving for more ambitious goals within the Common Agricultural Policy (GAP). “With the Green Deal, the EU Commission has presented a comprehensive action program to get out of the current economic…

Wind power from plants off the European coasts should deliver up to five times as much energy within the next ten years as before. The EU Commission named an increase from the current 12 gigawatts to 60 gigawatts. Over the next 30 years, 800 billion…

The poverty rate in Germany, with 13.2 million people concerned, is at 15.9 percent of the total population and has thus reached the highest level since German reunification. Measured by the number of inhabitants, there were highs around Bremerhaven and Bremen, at over 24.5 percent….

by Thorsten Koch The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea is intended to transport natural gas from Russia to Europe, mainly to Germany. There are only 150 kilometres (93 miles) before the Baltic Sea pipeline is completed. Despite warnings from German politicians…

by Thorsten Koch The proportion of people in employment in Germany has stabilized and, in June 2020, was only 1.3 percent lower than during the same period in the previous year – despite the Corona pandemic. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 44.7 million…

by Thorsten Koch Federal Minister of Economics Altmaier would like to implement targeted measures against the Corona pandemic instead of implementing comprehensive, all-round measures. Altmaier wants to prevent a second lockdown, he pointed out in an interview. Employer President Kramer also spoke out against another…

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…

Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble has campaigned to expand the monetary union of the Euro states into a fully-fledged economic union. It took courage to integrate, Schäuble wrote. Discussing aspects of financing falls short of a constructive stance, he criticized. The Corona pandemic could be seen…

The Grand Coalition agreed on a solution concerning a lobby register, which is to be established later this year. The register is intended to allow transparency in dealing with stakeholders, without making necessary contacts between parliamentarians difficult. An obligation to register should apply. A fine…