Olaf Scholz at the German Banking Day: Economic growth below expectations

Olaf Scholz at the German Banking Day: Economic growth below expectations

Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed optimism about Germany's economic situation despite the current challenges. He emphasized that Germany was successfully coping with the turbulent times. Scholz pointed out that inflation is at its lowest level in three years and experts are predicting falling interest rates. He also highlighted the high employment rate and mentioned increasing production in important sectors such as the automotive industry, chemicals and construction.

However, the Chancellor admitted that Germany could not be satisfied with the expected economic growth for this year. This is not only due to external factors such as the global economy, rising energy prices and interest rates, but also to internal problems such as labor shortages, bureaucratic hurdles and investment deficits in infrastructure and digitalization.

To counter these challenges, Scholz announced measures to bring qualified workers into the country, including the Skilled Immigration Act and the expansion of all-day care. He is also committed to creating incentives so that people work beyond the statutory retirement age. The federal government is working on simplifying planning and approval procedures, accelerating the construction of power lines and clearing the investment backlog.

Scholz also emphasized the importance of a European capital markets union for Europe's growth potential compared to the USA. Intensive work is being done in Brussels to bring the European capital markets closer together in order to offer companies more financing options for investments in the green and digital transformation.