BERLIN — Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended his coalition's economic reform programme in a government statement to the Bundestag on Wednesday, pitching tax relief and labour-market flexibility as the path to revitalising Europe's largest economy.
The black-red coalition has unveiled 34 measures aimed at boosting business competitiveness, including a €10 billion tax cut package and proposals to scrap telephone sick-leave notifications, requiring medical certificates from the first day of absence. Merz, who told deputies the reforms would preserve the social state while easing burdens on workers, also referenced outcomes from the NATO summit in Ankara.
Pension and health insurance restructuring remain central to the plan. German Trade Union Confederation president Yasmin Fahimi has called for mandatory employer-funded occupational pensions, noting roughly 20 million German workers currently lack such coverage. Merz is set to meet union and employer representatives at the Chancellery next week to advance negotiations.