The large companies in Germany are concerned about democracy as the foundation of a successful economy and at the same time insist on reforms. “We need a moratorium that gives us time to examine the consequences of the regulatory projects,” said SiemensCEO Roland Busch (60) on Thursday on the occasion of the upcoming Bundestag election. Busch is part of the economic alliance “We stand for values”, which belongs to around 40 companies and founded it before the European elections last year to stand up for a united Europe.
“We are not against regulation itself, but we have to make them pragmatic to master the technological change and remain competitive,” continued Busch. “If every country in the EU runs its own national digitization strategy, we will not get any further,” said the Siemens boss. “We have to have the courage to switch off something.” The formula “Regulation with a sense of proportion” also applies in the global competition for artificial intelligence (AI).
In the opinion of German bank-The boss Christian Sewing (54) crucial to “focus on economic growth again”. Growth and stable democracy are due to each other – “we need both,” said Sewing. The USA had lured numerous European companies into the country through the “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA): “And not only through subsidies, but also because approval procedures in the United States take much less time than in Germany.”
Mercedes Benz-The boss Ola Källenius (55) referred to the report by the former ECB boss Mario Draghi (77): Draghi had called for an inventory and a thorough examination of the type of regulation and the strength of the EU strength. “We have to implement this requirement and, if necessary, have to dismantle regulations,” said Källenius.
When reducing bureaucracy, nobody has to act as radically as the newly established dog department led by Elon Musk (52) in the USA, said Siemens CEO Busch. You can also make sure that administration works easier and faster. It is time for a pan -European regulation in the 27 Member States.
Diversity and respect as the basis for economic success
The three DAX bosses are also concerned about an increase in xenophobia in Germany. Diversity, openness and mutual respect are not only the basis for social interaction, but also essential for economic success. Mercedes boss Källenius called for higher investments in education and a targeted immigration policy to win enough specialists and workers for Germany. Germany needs around 400,000 new workers a year: the topic of immigration is so important and complex that “all parties in the middle have to pull together here.”
Sewing added a stable democracy as the basis for economic success: this principle applies not only to Germany, but for Europe. “We need the capital market union to manage the urgently needed investments for our future. This does not work through individual bank loans, for this we need the European capital market. ”With a view to the significantly increasing armaments in Europe .
According to Siemens boss Busch, the next German Economic Minister has to set three priorities: transformation of the economy, open technology and more investments. According to Deutsche-Bank boss Sewing, the policy of the new federal government must be aimed at supporting long-term growth in Germany and bringing the country back to the growth path: “We need 2 percent growth per year to secure our pensions in the country To be able to, ”said Sewing. “We have only reached this growth target in the past ten years.”
For Mercedes-Benz-CEO Källenius, the new government must ask the key question every day whether a new law makes the location for investors and companies more attractive or not. Only then can you achieve more investments and more growth in Germany.