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Containers are parked at the port of Hamburg: Germany's economic success must be secured in the long term, warns savings bank association boss Ulrich Reuter.
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
The German savings banks are expecting a significant economic upswing again from next year.
In the long term, Germany's success would have to be secured, among other things, through climate justice.
Berlin - The savings banks do not expect noticeable economic growth in Germany until 2025.
The gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 1.1 percent next year, said the new president of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV), Ulrich Reuter, on Tuesday.
Only a meager increase of 0.3 percent is expected for the current year, after a decrease of 0.3 percent in the last recession year.
The German economy also shrank by 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2023.
Many economists and bank analysts expect only meager growth or even a further decline in gross domestic product (GDP) this year.
Reuter: “Germany’s prosperity can only be maintained with climate justice and cosmopolitanism”
Germany is facing major economic challenges, said Reuter.
“Many people are worried about the future.” This makes it all the more important to secure and strengthen the foundations of economic success for the future.
Germany's prosperity can only be maintained with climate-friendly economic growth, as a cosmopolitan country and in solidarity with its trading partners in the EU.
The prerequisite for this is a joint effort by all people who are able to work and more willingness to perform.
“Now is not the time to advocate for shorter working hours,” emphasized Reuter.
“On the contrary: we all have to roll up our sleeves to work our way out of the current difficulties.”
Performance and additional work should therefore be encouraged and rewarded, explained the Sparkasse President.
This is possible, for example, if additional working hours beyond a defined minimum are tax-reduced or a voluntary extension of working life is more strongly rewarded under tax or social security law.
Reuter's demands are in clear contrast to those of the AfD, which continues to enjoy great popularity in surveys.
The party, which sometimes openly criticizes migration, climate protection and the EU and therefore often lacks any scientific basis, is going into the 2024 election year with a big chest. Large parts of the German economy expressed concern.
(Reuters, lf)