Realist: news and analytics

Русский/English/العربية

  • News
  • Russia
  • Caucasus
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Experts
No Result
View All Result
Realist: news and analytics
  • News
  • Russia
  • Caucasus
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Experts
No Result
View All Result
Realist: news and analytics

Germany’s economy minister warns EU: Industrial survival key to European sovereignty

Katherina Reiche urges Brussels to approve electricity subsidies for heavy industry, calling Germany’s revival crucial to Europe's economic and democratic strength.

   
May 29, 2025, 07:37
World
China’s Lhasa destroyer enters next-gen warfare era with airborne radar integration

BERLIN (Realist English). Germany’s new economy minister Katherina Reiche has issued a stark warning that the survival of Germany’s heavy industry is vital not only to national recovery but to the strategic sovereignty of Europe. In her first international media interview since joining Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s cabinet, Reiche urged the European Commission to approve a subsidy plan that would cut electricity costs for energy-intensive sectors such as steel and chemicals.

“Not having steel production in Germany would mean entering into new dependencies,” Reiche told the Financial Times. “To no longer have basic chemical production would mean entering into new dependencies.” Her remarks come as Berlin scrambles to end the country’s longest postwar stagnation while simultaneously preparing a €1 trillion investment program in infrastructure and defense.

Reiche, a former CEO of Westenergie and long-time CDU lawmaker, emphasized that Berlin is “doing its homework” through structural reforms, but warned that heavy industry must not be neglected. The exit from nuclear power, combined with the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has left German manufacturers facing soaring energy bills, increasing competitive pressure from China, and acute labor shortages.

To address this, the Merz government has pledged to reduce electricity costs by at least five euro cents per kilowatt-hour through tax cuts and grid fee reductions. A special industrial electricity rate is also on the table for sectors such as steel, glass, cement, and chemicals — pending state aid approval from Brussels.

“This is essential to keep energy-intensive industries in Germany,” Reiche said, adding that the EU’s carbon cost compensation mechanism must also be extended.

She argued that supporting Germany’s industrial base is not only about economics, but about safeguarding European democracy. “We are in a global competition between systems,” she said. “Europe must show that it can act quickly — improve, adapt, and do so without compromising democratic values.”

The stakes are high. Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, has suffered three years of near-zero growth. Now, with Donald Trump threatening 50% tariffs on EU goods and global demand softening, recession risks are mounting. Brussels’ approval of Berlin’s subsidy plans — which may test EU rules on state aid — could become a decisive factor.

Reiche also signaled a more pragmatic approach toward European energy cooperation, moving away from the previous government’s hard line against nuclear power. She voiced openness to partnering with France on nuclear fusion, which does not produce long-term radioactive waste.

On China, Reiche called for a dual-track strategy: reducing dependencies on Chinese inputs while maintaining stable trade relations. “Our companies are deeply invested there. A lot of added value comes from China,” she said — but cautioned against overexposure to geopolitical risk.

Addressing calls from within her own party to revive Nord Stream, Reiche was blunt: “Back to Russian gas? With a regime bombing Kyiv daily? Absolutely inconceivable.” Instead, she called for a diversification of energy supplies and admitted that Germany had paid “a bitter price” for its previous reliance on Moscow.

Reflecting on her own roots in East Germany, Reiche acknowledged the economic dislocation still felt in the region — a dynamic the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has capitalized on. “This region is undergoing permanent structural change,” she said. “There is a fear of losing prosperity, a sense that nothing is ever truly stable.”

Reiche’s candid message is a rare blend of strategic realism and political urgency. Her economic nationalism — framed within a European democratic vision — repositions Berlin not as a cautious administrator, but as a proactive force demanding industrial resilience. Whether Brussels agrees may determine the industrial map of Europe for decades to come.

EuropeEuropean UnionGermany
Previous Post

Milei slashes Argentina’s public sector workforce by 48,000 in sweeping austerity drive

Next Post

Elon Musk steps down from Trump administration role amid budget policy rift

Related Posts

Japan calls China’s expanding military operations its ‘greatest strategic challenge’
World

Japan calls China’s expanding military operations its ‘greatest strategic challenge’

15 July, 2025
Taiwan’s military trains in metro stations and city streets as Han Kuang drills enter urban phase
World

Cameroon’s 92-year-old president Paul Biya announces bid for eighth term

15 July, 2025
Orban under pressure: Hungary’s ‘illiberal democracy’ faces a centre-right challenger
World

Orban under pressure: Hungary’s ‘illiberal democracy’ faces a centre-right challenger

14 July, 2025
Orban under pressure: Hungary’s ‘illiberal democracy’ faces a centre-right challenger
World

Iran slams Netanyahu over missile remarks, calls Israel’s war aims a failure

14 July, 2025
Trump’s 30% tariffs ignite EU backlash and threaten trade war escalation
World

China deepens strategic ties with Egypt amid Middle East tensions and global realignments

13 July, 2025
Trump’s 30% tariffs ignite EU backlash and threaten trade war escalation
World

Erdoğan hails ‘new page in history’ as Kurdish militants begin disarmament

13 July, 2025
Most Popular
Most Popular
Orban under pressure: Hungary’s ‘illiberal democracy’ faces a centre-right challenger

Iran slams Netanyahu over missile remarks, calls Israel’s war aims a failure

14 July, 2025

TEHRAN (Realist English). Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has sharply rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that Tel Aviv...

Gen X poised for major inheritance boom amid record baby boomer wealth transfers

Gen X poised for major inheritance boom amid record baby boomer wealth transfers

13 July, 2025

WASHINGTON (Realist English). Members of Generation X — those currently aged 45 to 60 — are expected to benefit from...

Trump’s 30% tariffs ignite EU backlash and threaten trade war escalation

Erdoğan hails ‘new page in history’ as Kurdish militants begin disarmament

13 July, 2025

ANKARA (Realist English). Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the beginning of a new era as militants from the outlawed...

FBI launches criminal investigation into former CIA and FBI chiefs over 2016 Russia probe

FBI launches criminal investigation into former CIA and FBI chiefs over 2016 Russia probe

9 July, 2025

WASHINGTON (Realist English). The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and former...

Opinion

Roman Starovoit

Roman Starovoit and the collapse of a technocratic glossy dream

8 July, 2025

MOSCOW (Realist English). I can’t stop thinking about the story of Roman Starovoit. If you think about it, the former...

Bezos’s Venetian wedding: a manifesto of new feudalism

Bezos’s Venetian wedding: a manifesto of new feudalism

30 June, 2025

VENICE (Realist English). When Jeff Bezos rents half of Venice for a $50 million wedding, it is more than the...

Not Mossad’s strength — but Iran’s weakness

Not Mossad’s strength — but Iran’s weakness

16 June, 2025

TBILISI (Realist English). The recent targeted assassinations of senior IRGC commanders and high-ranking Iranian officers are not simply the triumph...

The Church belongs to Christ, not to politicians: The Armenian Apostolic Church becomes a casualty of Yerevan’s political agony

The Church belongs to Christ, not to politicians: The Armenian Apostolic Church becomes a casualty of Yerevan’s political agony

12 June, 2025

YEREVAN (Realist English). First, they handed over part of the Holy Land to the Baku fascists, betraying the Armenians of...

All rights reserved.

© 2017-2025

  • About Us
  • Mission and Values
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Realist English

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Russia
  • Caucasus
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Experts

Русский/English/العربية