"We are simply over-regulated"

In an interview with Welt am Sonntag (20th August), Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) commented on infrastructure projects and the price of industrial electricity, among other things.

In order for Germany to emerge from the phase of economic stagnation, according to Weil, "we must finally get out of analysing the challenges and into action. The state must play a pioneering role in this. It would be an initial spark, for example, if the state were to launch a major and determined initiative to speed up and simplify procedures." The biggest problem, he said, is overregulation in almost all areas of society, but especially in infrastructure projects: "The countless complaints about too many bureaucratic hurdles are unfortunately justified. What is at stake here is nothing less than a piece of state reform. We are too complicated, too slow and therefore too expensive. We have to become faster, simpler, cheaper".

Weil is also in favour of an industrial electricity tariff for energy-intensive companies, which are currently often no longer competitive due to high energy prices. This should not become a permanent subsidy, but a support for a transitional period, as Germany needs these industries. The German government's Growth Opportunities Act would not solve the problem of energy-intensive industry either. Weil: "There is a threat of a loss of substance, and an industry that leaves will not come back. This country and Europe cannot afford de-industrialisation.