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Unlike many other EU countries, Germany does not have a national minimum wage even though specific industrial sectors have one. The upper chamber of parliament, the Bundesrat, has now proposed a minimum wage of 8.5€. The debate over introducing a general minimum wage has therefore emerged and we want to summarize this debate, in particular German media voices, positions of German political parties as well as statements of economists.
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Key components of the coalition agreement between Merkel’s CDU and the Social Democrats are the adoption of a nationwide minimum wage and the introduction of new pension benefits, in particular early retirement at 63. The introduction of the minimum wage follows a heated debate which gained importance ahead of coalition talks last September. The grand coalition is now governing since December and the two legislative projects advance quickly.
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More than two months after the Federal elections, Merkel’s CDU came to an agreement to form a coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD). A debate about the coalition treaty has emerged as some issues remain controversial such as the introduction of a nationwide minimum wage, new benefits in pension policy, new excess spending and measures addressing the challenge of the German energy turnaround.
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Since our last blog post on the German minimum wage debate, there is now renewed interest in the topic. What are the prospects of introducing a nationwide minimum wage, given the Federal elections results?
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We want to summarize reactions among politicians and German press views. The Eurogroup set up the details of a EUR 10 billion bailout package for Cyprus on Saturday, 16 March. This programme was heavily criticized in Germany, especially due to the tax on deposits below EUR 100 000. Yet, the Cypriot Parliament voted against this measure on Tuesday which is widely perceived as blackmail in Germany. Most commentators insists that Cyprus needs to come up with the agreed EUR 6 billion in order to receive the remaining sum from its European partners.
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After the Cyprus’s application for EU aid in June 2012, the negotiations on the programme are now getting concrete. The discussion in Germany about possible aid that is estimated between EUR 12 and 17.5 billion for the period 2013-2016 is focusing on the Cypriot financial sector which doesn’t enjoy a good reputation. In the German media, Cyprus and its banks are widely seen –rightly or wrongly - as a tax haven and a money-laundering base.
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The question of the compatibility of the German constitution (officially known as the Basic Law), with further European integration is at the origin of current debates in Germany. The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) will decide in September on whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) exceeds the limits of the Basic Law. Meanwhile, a debate on holding a referendum in Germany on the future of the EU and new EU treaties emerges. This column summarizes the discussion.
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On Wednesday 12 September, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) will announce its decision on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) as well as on the Fiscal Pact. Immediately after the decision Chancellor Angela Merkel will react in the German Bundestag with a government declaration to the FCC’s decision. The decision is eagerly anticipated by German and EU politicians as well as of both German and international press and we review the German press here.
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According to the Spiegel on 22 July the IMF signalled to EU leaders that it would not participate in further support for Greece. Countries like the Netherlands and Finland have made the involvement of the IMF a prerequisite for their aid. This review looks at recent voices in Germany on the so-called Grexit, which appears […]
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There seems to be a division among the representatives of the German industry. While representatives of German family businesses (Familienunternehmen) claim for more regulatory rules and less integration for the eurozone, representatives of the DAX (Deutscher Aktien IndeX) and in particular the Federation of German industry (BDI) generally regrouping export-orientated enterprises defend the common currency and more integration. Nevertheless, claims from the Familienunternehmen are not backed by official statistics on exports activities.
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While the Federal Government is opposed to the idea of Eurobonds, the German Council of Economic Experts recommends the establishment of a European Redemption Pact, under which a country could refinance itself through the European Redemption Fund (ERF) up to the point where the debt refinanced reached the current difference between the debt outstanding and […]
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The recent elections in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on 13 May 2012 led to success for the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) and to a defeat for Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU). The CDU obtained a mere 26.3 % of the votes, the party’s worst ever result in this state. There is now a clear majority for […]