The Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Robert Habeck, discusses the upcoming European elections, economic decline, gaps in the job market and higher defence spending on the Global Conversation.
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00:00Europe's biggest economy, Germany, has pledged climate neutrality by 2045.
00:06Following a period of sluggish growth, the country has fought to keep inflation down.
00:12But can Germany balance economic and climate policies?
00:17We spoke with Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Climate and Economy, Robert Habeck, to find out more.
00:31What is at stake for Germany in the European elections in June?
00:36For Germany, it is important that Europe commits to being European, that we grow together.
00:42The internal market is extremely important for the German economy.
00:46The internal energy market, which has been created in recent years, is a part of this.
00:51This is the German perspective as an economic and energy-providing country in Europe.
00:57As a European, I must say, it is extremely important that Europe becomes a political and noticeable entity.
01:04At the moment, Russia, the US and China are at odds on the world stage.
01:09It remains to be seen if Europe has a role to play there.
01:16If we divide, if we do not act united, then major geopolitical decisions will be made over our heads.
01:23Since Europe is fundamentally a continent of liberal democracy, decisions will be made against or at least without consideration of our values.
01:34Therefore, our economic, energy policy and climate policy interests are all valid and important.
01:41Ultimately, this is about keeping Europe as a union of liberal democracies strong within the global community.
01:50The future of the world will not be decided in the competition that exists between Germany and France, or Denmark and the Netherlands, or Sweden and Finland.
02:00The future of the world will be decided in the competition between the USA, China and Europe, and potentially India and Russia.
02:08EU member states must recognize that their role is in Europe and affirm it.
02:15The European rules, the subsidies, regulations for economic support, approval procedures, foreign policies
02:21and the ability, as difficult as it is for me to say, to create a European arms industry.
02:31We must face this realization.
02:33And if we understand Europe as a loose alliance of 27 states and do not equip it properly,
02:38saying that European integration must continue, then we will not be competitive globally.
02:45Germany is facing an economic crisis and people's purchasing power has decreased.
02:50How do we get out of this?
02:54For Germany, it must be said that the country has been particularly hit hard for two reasons.
03:00We had this heavy dependence on Russian energy, gas over 50%, 55% coal, but also oil, it comes from Russia.
03:10And so it's no wonder that the German economy has been hit particularly hard.
03:14All of our contracts had to be renegotiated.
03:17It was different in the likes of Spain, the UK or Denmark.
03:21And Germany is an export-oriented country.
03:24So we rely on the global market and the global economy is weak.
03:28China also has economic problems, which subsequently affect Germany much more than other countries.
03:34But we're fighting our way out of it.
03:36We have ensured energy security.
03:38We have now reduced energy prices.
03:40Inflation is coming down.
03:42Interest rates will soon fall again and then investment will resume.
03:45And the global economy will pick up again.
03:47And then the country will have weathered this period of weakness.
03:51How can the labor shortage in Germany be addressed?
03:55Firstly, we need immigration.
03:57This is absolutely not a new insight.
03:59But for too long, conservative political parties have said, no, no, we don't need any of that.
04:04Secondly, we need to better integrate those with potential, the people who are already here, into the labor market.
04:11This particularly concerns young people who do not have vocational qualifications or lack professional qualifications.
04:17This has to do with the education system, with the further education system.
04:22To put it in numbers, there are 2.6 million Germans between the ages of 20 and 35 here who do not have vocational qualifications.
04:30And that's a political problem.
04:32It's not an individual problem where you say, you just have to try harder.
04:36Too many people fall through the cracks because they may have dyslexia or problems with maths.
04:41But still, they might be good craftsmen, talented in nursing.
04:45The same goes for female workforce participation.
04:49It's worse in German-speaking countries, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, than the European average.
04:55Much worse than in Scandinavia.
04:57There is still a lack of childcare infrastructure, so that one can balance family with work.
05:02Also a political task.
05:04And thirdly, I would say, in an aging society, we need to work longer.
05:09Those who want to work longer should be allowed to do so.
05:14Military spending in Europe has increased significantly.
05:17What are the consequences for the economy?
05:23Either we didn't see it or we didn't want to see what Putin was doing, how he steadily built up his armies there.
05:28I don't like to spend money on armies and armaments.
05:31I can imagine it would be better for education, for research, for further education, for climate protection, for sustainability criteria.
05:39But we have to do it.
05:42The time for not wanting to is over.
05:45Therefore, we have to increase military spending to be able to protect ourselves for guaranteed European protection.
05:52We can't rely on the Americans as the guarantors.
05:55But we have to become less dependent.
05:57Military spending has increased in the last two years because we have supported Ukraine so strongly.
06:03In my opinion, however, it must be stabilized.
06:06Also, you almost have to save the repair of the European and at least the German army in order to be able to do something.
06:15According to a report by the European Environment Agency, the EU is not prepared for climate change and heat waves.
06:22What do you plan to do to change this?
06:25Now, first and foremost, the aim is to limit global warming as much as possible.
06:30It's solely about slowing down, containing the curve in a way that allows people to adapt, to withstand the significant change.
06:44When you look at this from the European point of view, there is a lot of uncertainty.
06:50When you look at this from a biological and social perspective, relating to social cohesion in our communities,
06:59we must make our cities more resistant to heat and rain.
07:02We must make agriculture more sustainable.
07:05We need water reservoirs in arid regions.
07:08We must review water management.
07:10We need coastal protection measures along the coast, significant investments.
07:15When it comes to speeding up the energy transition in Europe, what needs to be done?
07:19And what does this mean for industry and people?
07:24In the next term of the European Commission, there needs to be less bureaucracy in the expansion of renewables.
07:29We're making our lives unnecessarily difficult in some ways when you read the Renewable Energy Directive.
07:35I don't know if all of that needs to be so meticulously and extensively regulated.
07:40So if we really want to make progress, we need to be more pragmatic and less bureaucratic.