Tag: Economy
CDU, SPD the Greens make proposals for amended climate protection law
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) believes it is possible that the climate protection law can be changed quickly. He wants to submit proposals to those responsible in the Federal Cabinet and possibly speak to the opposition, in addition, to ensure that the renewed…
Greens spokeswoman warns of a longer moratory of bankruptcy applications
Katja Keul, legal policy spokeswoman for the Green parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, has warned that a further suspension of the obligation to file for insolvency could endanger other market participants. Should the suspension to apply be extended beyond the end of April, this…
Heil specifies further financial aid plans for the cultural sector
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has promised cultural workers that they can continue to receive Corona financial aid from the Federal Government. Merkel’s Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) announced that if self-employed people, including artists, make small profits, they should not lose their insurance cover in…
Oktoberfest canceled, Bayreuth Festival to take place
The Oktoberfest in Munich, after being skipped in 2020, will also be canceled in 2021, in view of the Corona pandemic, the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has announced after a conversation with the Mayor of Munich, Reiter (SPD). There was no time for…
Longer bankruptcy protection?
The Grand Coalition is debating whether to extend insolvency protection for commercial companies in view of the Corona pandemic. So far, the regulation applies until the end of April. The SPD would like a longer period of validity. A spokesman for the Union parties’ parliamentary…
Volkswagen reaches agreement with trade union
The employees of the car manufacturer Volkswagen will receive a Corona bonus of 1000 Euros each in June, as well as a salary increase of 2.3 percent from 2022. IG Metall and Volkswagen agreed on this. The collective agreement for 120,000 employees is valid for…
Merkel and Macron welcome Chinese climate targets
Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have welcomed the People’s Republic of China’s goals of achieving CO2 neutrality before 2060. In a digital conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Xi said, according to Chinese state television, that cooperation with Germany and France would…
Altmaier expects a quick economic recovery
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) assumes that the German economy will recover quickly after the end of the Corona pandemic. The situation is robust, he said, adding that the recovery will accelerate from the middle of the second quarter. Altmaier expects growth of…
Improvements for cyclists thanks to new traffic plan
The Federal Cabinet is working to ensure that Germany becomes a “cyclist country,” in the long run. Cycle paths are to be expanded in both urban and rural areas. Metropolises are to be connected by high-speed bike paths. Commuters, for example, could benefit from this….
Companies are planning a significant number of new hires
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…
One third of the labor force work from home
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…
Fewer companies report bankruptcy
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 fell in March despite the crisis
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…
Additional help for particularly affected companies
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…
Agreement on EU agriculture reform
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…
North Sea fishing: EU agrees with UK and Norway
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…
For improvements in cooperation between the EU and third countries
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…
Corona easing: consultations concluded between the Federal Government and the governments of the Federal States
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…
Grand coalition: agreement on the reform of the transport service
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…
Possible relaxation of Corona measures thanks to tests and vaccinations in view
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…
Fiber optic expansion by Telekom will be accelerated
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….
Scholz for “citizens’ money” instead of Hartz IV
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…
Union parties criticize SPD plans for wealth tax
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…
Hairdressers allowed to work again from today
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.
Slightly improved consumer sentiment
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…