Ampel coalition in the Zwickmühle: 10 billion and the car crisis!

Ampel coalition in the Zwickmühle: 10 billion and the car crisis!

In Berlin, the leading heads of the traffic light coalition, including Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), have recently met to discuss the use of freedom of free funding. These money should originally be made available to the American chip manufacturer Intel for the construction of a work in Magdeburg. The federal government had planned 9.9 billion euros from the climate and transformation fund (KTF). This fund not only supports climate projects, but also settlements of key technologies to strengthen the economic autonomy of Europe.

A recently announced delay on the part of Intel has complicated the situation. The company has announced that it will move the construction of the work by at least two years, which is why the planned financial resources are now not required for the time being. The traffic light coalition is disagreed with the best handling of these funds. While Lindner on platform X called for the unnecessary funds to reduce open financial issues in the federal budget, Habeck argued that the money should remain in the KTF, for example to relieve the industry currently in crisis. Christian Haase, the UNION head of the Union, agreed to Habeck and pointed out that the billions should be left in the KTF in order to act in a serious and household law.

The location in the auto industry

Another topic at the meeting was the worrying developments in the automotive industry. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, this industry is the most important branch of Germany in Germany. There are massive job cuts and relocations of jobs abroad, especially among large companies such as Volkswagen and the supplier ZF Friedrichshafen.

The Institute of German Economy (IW) names several causes of the crisis situation. This includes international competition, which enables companies to produce significantly cheaper, as well as high energy costs and lengthy approval processes in Germany. In addition, the German automobile manufacturers, including VW and BMW, face a technological deficit in the transition to electrical mobility, especially in comparison to companies such as Tesla from the USA and BYD from China. The latter is particularly perceived as a serious competitor, since the Chinese government subsidizes the sale of electric cars.

Chancellor Scholz has confirmed that the goal of the government is to secure industrial workplaces. As a possible measure, a new "scrappage bonus" to promote the changeover of internal combustion engines to electric cars was considered. Economic Minister Habeck, however, replaced the expectations and emphasized that there should be no hasty measures because the budget situation was shaped by savings constraints.

The discussion about the use of funding and the challenges in the auto industry are decisive factors that will affect the future economic stability of Germany. The interest and concerns about the auto industry are increasing, since the prosperity and jobs are in balance in one of the country's central industries. These developments clearly show how important it is to use financial resources wisely and to strengthen the competitiveness of German industry.

Sources: dpa, AFP

Image Source: dpa/Kay Nietfeld