Business leaders welcome coalition agreement

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Business leaders welcome coalition agreement

The center-left Social Democrats SPD the ecologist Greens and the liberal Free Democrats FDP presented a three-way agreement for a new government to take over from a coalition led by conservative Angela Merkel on Wednesday.

Following are reactions from companies and business leaders:

Our country is facing a lot of challenges. The pandemic has shown that a unified approach is lacking and exposed deficits in many areas. Rapid and comprehensive digitisation is crucial for Germany to remain economically successful in the long term. The German government is focusing on sustainability and climate protection in air transport but is committed to competition-neutral concepts and is striving for international regulation. Regulations that are burdening domestic companies are of no use to the environment because of the globally active air transport sector.

The coalition agreement sets a course for future technologies in air transport. The funds from the air traffic tax will be used to promote sustainable aviation fuels in the future. This is a real contribution to climate protection. In this way, taxes that passengers and companies pay for air transportation will be used in a targeted manner to the transformation of the industry. We applaud the federal government's commitment to speed up the expansion of charging infrastructure, especially with a focus on the fast charging network. The expansion in advance of demand and the non-discriminatory access to public charging points are the main factors that drive the successful ramp-up of e-mobility and increase customer acceptance. The commitment to ambitious expansion goals at European level is an important signal. When I first looked at the coalition agreement, I liked the sound of three numbers: 15 million electric cars, 1 million charging points and 80% renewable energy.

There are three specific goals for 2030 that will support the transformation of the automotive industry in this decade. They correspond to our strategy at Mercedes-Benz. It's possible that more cars can become electric and electric cars are green. Higher investments, faster approval procedures, and a digital awakening in the state, economy and society will do us good. This combination moves us forward in terms of climate protection and improving competitiveness. The coalition agreement has a stronger focus on climate policy. We welcome that the coalition recognises the importance of network infrastructure as the backbone of the energy transition, especially with regard to financing and investment conditions.