Handelsblatt24 minutes agoPolitics1 min readGermany

Comment: Wake up before the nightmare debt crisis becomes reality

Economists are calling for urgent action in view of the German national debt, while the debate about VAT is taking a back seat.

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The Council of Experts has handed over its new annual report to Chancellor Friedrich Merz under the title “Financial policy faces tough decisions”.
Economists warn urgently about Germany's massive debt and are calling for necessary reforms.

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Why It Matters

The Council of Experts publishes an annual report on the economic situation in Germany. The current document consists of 458 pages.

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The economists show impressively how massive the problem with Germany's national debt is becoming. This is the debate that needs to happen now – not the one about VAT.

Finding a short, concise title for a 458-page report is anything but easy. The Council of Experts, Germany's highest economic body, has once again collected all sorts of suggestions within its own ranks in advance of the publication of the new annual report.

Wonderful puns came together. “Big tasks, no scope” was one of them. “Greetings from the Swabian housewife” is another. The title for the report by the “Economists”, which they presented to Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday, was ultimately less playful: “Financial policy before tough decisions”.

As different as the proposals and actual titles are in their linguistic appearance, all three get to the core of the new report: German financial policy is facing a huge problem.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

Debate about pension levels and VAT in the Bundestag.
Likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

What specific savings measures are proposed?
How is the government responding to calls for pension cuts?