German Finance Minister spoke about the country’s poverty and lack of competitiveness

German Finance Minister spoke about the country's poverty and lack of competitiveness

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German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said that due to the lack of economic growth, the German economy has become uncompetitive, and the country itself is rapidly becoming poorer. According to estimates by the German Statistics Office (Destatis), by the end of 2023, the country’s GDP decreased by 0.3%.

“We are no longer competitive. We are becoming poorer because we have no economic growth,” said Christian Lindner, speaking at the event Bloomberg in Frankfurt.

A few hours before Mr. Lindner’s speech, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a forecast for German economic growth for 2024, cutting it by almost half, to 0.3%. Commenting on the OECD report, the German Finance Minister said that it is already clear to everyone that social benefits and promising environmental projects in Germany can only be achieved through “economic prosperity.” He called for the development of greater labor market flexibility with less bureaucracy, ultimately leading to a “social market economy.”

According to Destatis estimates, the volume of industrial production in Germany at the end of 2023 decreased by 2% compared to 2022. It is expected that economic growth in 2024 will be supported, among other things, by a stable labor market and weakening inflation. According to Destatis forecasts, thanks to tight monetary policy, inflation could reach 2.7% this year and 2.5% in 2025.

Read more about the current economic situation in Germany in the Kommersant article. “One-tenth of a recession”.

Milena Kostereva

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