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Coalition wants to make Germany more crisis-proof by year’s end

The governing parliamentary groups of CDU/CSU and SPD have adopted a paper at their retreat in Münster that aims to make Germany more resilient by the end of the year. Among other things, the paper calls for stronger civil protection and a faster reform of the intelligence services.

Coalition wants to make Germany more crisis-proof by year’s end
Photo: img.zeit.de

The governing parliamentary groups of CDU/CSU and SPD have adopted a paper at their retreat in Münster that aims to make Germany more resilient by the end of the year. Among other things, the paper calls for stronger civil protection and a faster reform of the intelligence services.

The parliamentary group leaders of CDU/CSU and SPD met in Münster to discuss the country’s internal security and competitiveness. The adopted paper outlines concrete measures: civil protection is to be strengthened, defense against drones and cyberattacks improved, and the reform of the intelligence services completed within this year. In this way, the coalition wants to respond to threats such as extremism and foreign influence.

A focus of the retreat was on industry, particularly the automotive sector. Thorsten Frei, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, pointed to around 730,000 jobs in the industry and noted that for every industrial job in the automotive industry, about seven additional jobs depend on it in supplier industries. To support the sector, the coalition is relying on free trade with partner countries and is advocating for a technology-open transition at the EU level. This means that after 2035, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles with range extenders, and highly efficient combustion engines could also be allowed alongside battery-electric vehicles. Additionally, the purchase and leasing of such vehicles are to be promoted for small and medium incomes.

The governing parliamentary groups also want to better protect German and European industry against unfair imports. They support the EU Commission and the federal government in advancing further trade and investment agreements. At the same time, they are pushing for faster and broader anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures at the European level. China is not mentioned by name in the paper, but according to parliamentary group circles, Chinese overcapacities are primarily meant. Circumvention of new EU protective measures is to be effectively prevented, and one-sided dependencies on raw materials and products reduced.

The parliamentary group leaders showed determination to implement the partly controversial social and economic reforms by the end of the year. Miersch, leader of the SPD parliamentary group, spoke of a “work program” that is a “firm roadmap.” By the end of the year, a package of “concrete laws” should be in place to secure the country’s future viability in economic and social terms.

Source: www.zeit.de

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