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The Hague - The German government plans to team up with the private sector to invest €89bn (about R6 300bn) in the country’s ageing infrastructure.
This is a departure of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s frugal approach to date. Her government has been severely criticised for its refusal to invest in economic recovery.
The German plans form part of an “investment offensive” by the European Union (EU), according to government documents seen by the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The most important is €24bn which will be pumped into quicker broadband internet connections. A further €13.5bn will be invested in durable wind energy and €10bn for new highways. Altogether 58 projects will be funded in this way.
France, Italy and the Netherlands will also participate in this new initiative by EU chairperson Jean-Claude Juncker, who recently took over from Jose Manuel Barroso. As especially the French and Italian governments are proponents of big state spending, their plans have elicited lower excitement than the policy change emanating from Berlin.
France will invest €142bn, Italy €82bn and the Netherlands €75bn.
Critics point to the fact that the investment programme will run over a period of ten years, which makes it less dramatic than it sounds. Nevertheless, the fact that Germany is changing course (albeit to a limited extent) and that the EU is starting a combined effort to invest Europe out of the present economic malaise, is noteworthy.
At the same time, the German Bureau for Statistics reports that German industrial production has increased by 0.2% in October. This translates into an increase over two consecutive months.
The German economy has also grown by 1.1% in September and 0.8% in October, which means a recession is, for the moment at least, not on the cards.
This is a departure of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s frugal approach to date. Her government has been severely criticised for its refusal to invest in economic recovery.
The German plans form part of an “investment offensive” by the European Union (EU), according to government documents seen by the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The most important is €24bn which will be pumped into quicker broadband internet connections. A further €13.5bn will be invested in durable wind energy and €10bn for new highways. Altogether 58 projects will be funded in this way.
France, Italy and the Netherlands will also participate in this new initiative by EU chairperson Jean-Claude Juncker, who recently took over from Jose Manuel Barroso. As especially the French and Italian governments are proponents of big state spending, their plans have elicited lower excitement than the policy change emanating from Berlin.
France will invest €142bn, Italy €82bn and the Netherlands €75bn.
Critics point to the fact that the investment programme will run over a period of ten years, which makes it less dramatic than it sounds. Nevertheless, the fact that Germany is changing course (albeit to a limited extent) and that the EU is starting a combined effort to invest Europe out of the present economic malaise, is noteworthy.
At the same time, the German Bureau for Statistics reports that German industrial production has increased by 0.2% in October. This translates into an increase over two consecutive months.
The German economy has also grown by 1.1% in September and 0.8% in October, which means a recession is, for the moment at least, not on the cards.
