Germany

WHAT'S NEXT?: Germany's immediate concerns will be the holding together of an increassingly fragile EU following the UK's Brexit vote and the recent Italian referendum. With its own presidential elections due in May 2017 Angela Merkel's government will be anxious to make a strong showing.

• [New] The only coal-fired power station under construction in Europe is the Datteln 4 project in Germany: The 1,100 MW power station is expected to commence first generation early next year but has been subject to intense focus from protestors who plan to interrupt the power station's operation.
• [New] Additional key drivers in the advertising industry are the India and Brazil and, while Germany will remain the fifth largest market by 2024, France is set to be overtaken by India and Brazil.
• [New] By 2050, demographic change would damp average per capita income in France, Spain, Italy and Germany by € 4,759-€ 6,548 at 2010 prices.
• Tax revenues in Germany are expected to end the year 4 billion euros higher than previously estimated.
• German coal closeout: The German government and regional leaders have agreed on a plan to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2038, involving compensation of about €40bn.
• By 2023 German companies will have tripled their portfolio of e-models from 50 models today to more than 150 models.
• Over the next two decades, Germany, France, and Italy are all forecast to reach the point at which a quarter of their populations will reach 65 years of age.
• NATO members recently agreed to a new cost-sharing formula that will result in Germany and the U.S. paying an equal share-approximately 16% - of NATO's operating costs beginning in 2021.
• So far, Germany operates a 1 5GW target for wind at sea by 2030, which Berlin intends to raise to 20 GW, but has no goal for 2035.
• Ecommerce spending in Germany will reach an estimated €69.37 billion ($81.85 billion) this year, an annual rise of 7.8%.
• The driver assistance system and automated vehicles market value would be EUR 8.8 billion and shall generate 130,000 jobs by 2025 in Germany.
• By 2021 roughly 93% of UK internet users are expected to do online shopping, the highest online shopping penetration rate in Europe, with Germany, France, Spain, and Italy closely following suit.
• Proximity mobile payment usage is on the rise in Germany, as 12.5% of smartphone users are expected to make an in-store mobile payment in 2019.
• Germany's fiscal plans foresee the defence budget of NATO's second-largest member rising to 1.37% of output next year before falling to 1.24% in 2023.
• Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK combined will account for nearly two-thirds of all new grocery sales generated [in Europe] between 2019 and 2024.
• This year, some 100,000 auto-industry workers in India have lost their jobs, and, in Germany, some 500,000 auto jobs were lost or are at risk.
• The euro area economy is expected to slow to 1.6% in 2019, due to the softening of growth in Spain, Germany and Italy.
• Imports will be bolstered by the fact that, despite the mounting barriers to trade in recent times, the German economy is likely to become increasingly integrated in the international division of labour over the coming years as well.
• The ongoing solid growth in German exports and the thoroughly robust domestic demand give reason to expect considerable gains in imports over the remaining course of the projection horizon, too.
• The increasingly unfavourable demographic trends - which result in a flatter potential growth path for the German economy - will dampen fixed capital formation: Furthermore, aggregate overutilisation will further diminish somewhat in the coming years.

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Last updated: 18 February 2020