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Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged lawmakers on Tuesday to override Germany’s borrowing limits for a fourth consecutive year, allowing his government to take on billions of euros in fresh debt to modernize his country’s economy despite a budget crisis triggered a constitutional court ruling. “It would be a grave, unforgivable mistake to neglect the modernization of our country in the face of all these acute challenges,” Mr. Scholz told Parliament, citing persistently high energy prices and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Afterward, a powerful leader of the opposition Christian Democrats signaled he may be wiling to accept Mr. Scholz’s plan, a sign that the fiscal crisis that has gripped Germany for two weeks and threatened to fracture the government’s three-party coalition may begin to ease. Germany’s highest court on Nov. 15 threw out a special fund set up by the government that shifted credits approved in 2020 to combat the coronavirus pandemic to instead finance environmental projects and green technology. The court ruled that credits taken out in a given year for a specific purpose had to be spent within that time, and for the designated purpose.
Persons: Olaf Scholz, ” Mr, Scholz, Scholz’s Organizations: Democrats Locations: Ukraine, Germany
Tesla sued Sweden’s Transport Agency on Monday over a strike by postal workers that has blocked delivery of license plates for Tesla cars, the latest escalation of a widening battle between Sweden’s labor unions and the U.S. manufacturer of electric vehicles. A month ago, mechanics at seven Tesla-owned repair shops in Sweden walked off their jobs. Dockworkers, electricians, painters and postal employees have all joined the strike, refusing to provide the company with their services. Last week, some 50 metalworkers at a factory that produces aluminum parts for Tesla’s factory in Germany walked off the job. On Nov. 20, postal workers joined the action, refusing to deliver any mail or packages to Tesla’s facilities, including the license plates.
Persons: Tesla Organizations: Sweden’s Transport Agency, IF Metall Locations: U.S, Sweden, Tesla’s, Germany
Germany Announces Special Budget to Avert Crisis
  + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
How We Got Here: A court ruling put spending plans into disarray. The move came after days of uncertainty triggered by the ruling from the country’s highest court that declared elements of the 2023 budget invalid because of a rule that limits borrowing. Mr. Lindner, who leads the fiscally conservative Free Democrats party, has vowed to abide by the borrowing limits for the 2023 budget. “No new debt will be taken on, but the funds already used to overcome the crisis will be placed on a secure legal basis,” Mr. Lindner said in a statement on Thursday. Economists and business leaders, as well as some lawmakers from Mr. Scholz’s three-party coalition, demanded Mr. Lindner take action to clarify spending plans for 2023 to ensure stability and clear the way for lawmakers to approve a budget for 2024.
Persons: Lindner, Mr, Olaf Scholz, Scholz’s Organizations: Free Democrats Locations: Ukraine
Tesla does not produce any vehicles in Sweden, but runs several facilities where the cars are serviced. So far this year, the Tesla Model Y is the best-selling new car in Sweden, with more than 14,000 registrations through October, according to Mobility Sweden, an industry group. Unions representing cleaners have also refused to service Tesla facilities, and the postal workers’ union stopped any deliveries from reaching the company’s sites. Both IF Metall and the Transport Workers’ Union have acknowledged that Tesla has found ways around the strikes. Tesla appeared to be bringing in other mechanics to staff its facilities and bringing new vehicles into Sweden by truck, they said.
Persons: Tesla, , Dockworkers, ” Dirk Schulze, ” Mr, Schulze, IF Metall Organizations: Tesla, Mobility Sweden, Swedish Transport Workers ’ Union, IF Metall, Transport Workers ’ Union, IG Metall, Metall, IF, Hydro Extrusions Locations: Sweden, Swedish, Sweden’s, Germany, Berlin, Brandenburg
Why It Matters: A Restraint on Germany’s Green Ambitions. The Climate Transformation Fund has €212 billion dedicated to projects from 2024 to 2027. The court ruled that it must now be reduced by €60 billion, the money added from unused pandemic funds. Heart of the Issue: Germany’s ‘Debt Brake’Germany is the only leading industrial economy to have a so-called debt brake written into its constitution. “The circumvention of the debt brake is becoming increasingly absurd,” said Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German Institute for Economic Research, a Berlin-based think tank.
Persons: , Marcel Fratzscher, Organizations: , German Institute for Economic Research, Social Democrats, Greens, Free Democrats Locations: Germany, Berlin, Ukraine
Siemens Energy is a key player in Germany’s energy transition and employs some 26,000 people in the country. The company’s difficulties have served as a warning that financial problems weighing on makers of renewable energy equipment could be growing more severe. Siemens Energy is the parent company of Siemens Gamesa, one of the world’s leading wind turbine makers. What Happens Next: Siemens Energy opens its books. On Wednesday, Siemens Energy will announce its earnings for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30.
Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Siemens Gamesa, Denmark’s Orsted Organizations: Siemens Energy, Germany, Siemens, Air Liquide Locations: Berlin, French, Denmark, Spain, New Jersey, United States, Frankfurt
Dockworkers said they would expand their blockade of the automaker’s shipment to all ports in Sweden next week, after launching the action at four key locations. The electricians’ union said its members would stop servicing Tesla charging stations when they needed a repair, and maintenance workers said they wouldn’t clean Tesla facilities. On Monday, the IF Metall trade union, which represents 300,000 workers across the country including the Tesla mechanics, said its talks with company representatives had ended without resolution. Tesla, which entered Sweden in 2013, did not respond to requests for comment. The company told Sweden’s TT News Agency that it followed Swedish labor market rules but had chosen not to sign a collective agreement.
Persons: Tesla, Dockworkers Organizations: IF, Sweden’s TT News Agency Locations: Sweden, Swedish
More than a week after Tesla mechanics in Sweden began a strike to compel the U.S. automaker to accept a collective labor agreement, union officials said Tesla representatives would meet with the union on Monday. Tesla doesn’t make cars in Sweden, and the country is a relatively small market for the automaker. But the job action by dozens of mechanics is beginning to reverberate. Since the union called the strike on Oct. 27, dozens of the mechanics who are union members have been staying home, disrupting service appointments for some Tesla drivers. Not all of the union members have taken part, said Jesper Pettersson, a spokesman for IF Metall, acknowledging reports that some service facilities appeared largely unaffected.
Persons: Tesla, Dockworkers, Jesper Pettersson Organizations: U.S, IF Metall Locations: Sweden, Teslas
A peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. That was the wish behind a post that Simge Krüger made on LinkedIn in March. In response, people began posting their wishes that her husband, father and brother be killed in combat. “I was just talking about peace and I’m suddenly a Nazi,” Ms. Krüger, a Turkish citizen who lives in Hamburg, said in an interview. Weeks later, sitting in a workshop led by a pro-democracy organization, she came to understand what happened in that dizzying moment.
Persons: Krüger, , I’m, ” Ms, Weeks Organizations: LinkedIn, Nazi Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Turkish, Hamburg
In recent years, the brand has introduced its sandals made with non-animal materials and a dizzying array of styles and colors. But the shoes’ appeal reaches across generations, making them as popular with millennials as they are with the boomer generation. Potential Risks: The trick of taking tradition publicBirkenstock’s statement said the company would face a number of risks in going public. Among them are the dangers posed by counterfeit products, it said, along with the “intense competition” from established companies and newcomers in the shoe market. “The transition from a historically family-owned German company to a publicly held company listed on a U.S. stock exchange may negatively impact our reputation,” the statement said.
Persons: Oliver Reichert, , Mr, Reichert, “ Barbie, , Barbie, Christian Dior, Manolo Blahnik, Stüssy, Valentino Garavani Organizations: U.S, Birkenstocks Locations: Germany, New York, Milan, , U.S
The European Union will begin an investigation into Chinese subsidies of electric vehicles, the bloc’s top official announced Wednesday, in a move that highlights Europe’s growing industrial and geopolitical competition with China. The inquiry could lead to trade restrictions, such as import tariffs on Chinese vehicles. Chinese automakers have gained a dominant position in the global electric vehicle industry and see Europe as a key potential market. “Europe is open for competition, not for a race to the bottom,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, speaking in Strasbourg, France. “We must defend ourselves against unfair practices.”She announced the initiative during her annual state of the European Union address, which sets the tone for the year ahead.
Persons: , Ursula von der Leyen, Organizations: European Union, European Commission Locations: China, Europe, Beijing, “ Europe, Strasbourg, France
For decades, the phrase “Made in Germany” signaled cutting-edge automotive technology and design. And that speed was on display Monday at I.A.A. Mobility, a massive auto show in Munich, with newcomers from China stealing the show. BYD, an all-electric Chinese carmaker that overtook Volkswagen as China’s best-selling brand this year, unveiled a sleek, new sedan and a sport utility vehicle to applause from a packed crowd. “I think the Europeans are just pretty much petrified of how the Chinese will perform in Europe,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent analyst of the electric-car market based in Berlin.
Persons: Germany ”, , Matthias Schmidt Organizations: Mobility, Volkswagen Locations: Germany, China, Munich, Europe, Berlin
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said on Tuesday it would team up with three German technology firms to build a facility in eastern Germany capable of producing up to 40,000 microchips each month as part of efforts to further diversify its production locations. TSMC, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors, said it would invest 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) and own 70 percent of the joint venture, to be located in Dresden. The German companies Robert Bosch, Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors will each control 10 percent. The combined private and public investment, “including strong support from the European Union and German government,” is expected to total €10 billion, the company said. The plant would be TSMC’s first location in Europe, and represents a win for Germany, which has been seeking out manufacturers of microchips, the tiny devices essential for the country’s large automotive industry and countless other devices.
Persons: Robert Bosch, Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Infineon Technologies, European Union, Germany Locations: Germany, Dresden, Europe
The Yeezy sales added €150 million to Adidas’s operating profit for the first half the year, “an incremental amount,” the sportswear maker said. And Adidas reported a steeply lower operating profit for the half-year: €236 million, versus €828 million a year earlier. Adidas began selling its first batch of its remaining Yeezy shoe models in June. But Mr. Gulden refused to elaborate on how much the rapper was making from the sales. Adidas said it has set aside €110 million of its proceeds from the first sale of the Yeezy inventory to donate to organizations.
Persons: Ye, ” Bjorn Gulden, Gulden, , ” Mr, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd, Robert K Organizations: Adidas, Defamation League, European Jewish Association, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social, Kraft, New England Patriots Locations: North America
Gross domestic product in the eurozone grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023, a stronger result than predicted by economists. Italy, Austria and Latvia all saw output fall in the second quarter. Inflation across the eurozone dipped to an annual rate of 5.3 percent in July, down from 5.5 percent the previous month. “On the whole, the eurozone economy recorded another underwhelming quarter,” said Ricardo Amaro, a senior economist at Oxford Economics. He noted that “the second half of the year is likely to be as underwhelming, if not more than the first half, with the eurozone economy risking stagnation or worse.”
Persons: , Fritzi, KfW, Christine Lagarde, What’s, Lagarde, , Ricardo Amaro Organizations: Gross, European Central Bank, Oxford Economics Locations: Germany, Europe’s, Ukraine, Germany’s, Italy, Austria, Latvia, Spain, France, Europe, Russia
But overall revenue increased 18.2 percent as the company stemmed some of its losses in China, where deliveries were down 1.2 percent. Western Europe provided the company with its strongest business, with 1.65 million vehicles ordered in the first half of the year, and 200,000 of them — or 12 percent — were electric vehicles, the company said. Volkswagen hopes that its investment in XPeng will help advance the German automaker’s electric vehicle software to the standards produced by Chinese manufacturers. Some analysts interpreted the move as a concession that Volkswagen was unable to compete with Chinese companies on the latest technology. But Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive, expressed confidence that VW customers, including those in China, want more variety in their vehicles.
Persons: , Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Oliver Blume, Mr, Blume, Organizations: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group Rus, China, BYD, Audi, SAIC, British, Center for Automotive Research, , Tesla, Volkswagen Group, Porsche, Lamborghini, VW Locations: China, Western Europe, Russia, Avilon, Moscow, XPeng, Duisburg, Germany
Tesla wants to double the production capacity of its assembly plant outside Berlin to one million electric vehicles a year, a move that would make it the largest car plant in Europe at a time when German automakers are struggling to keep pace in the transition to electric vehicles. Since it began production in Grünheide 16 months ago, Tesla has disrupted the German automobile landscape. Over the first half of this year, for the first time, it eclipsed Volkswagen in electric vehicle sales. Volkswagen and other German automakers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have spent years fumbling their attempts to produce electric cars that can compete with Tesla in price and popularity. Across the continent in June, new registrations of electric cars increased more than 66 percent from a year earlier, outselling diesel cars for the first time, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Persons: Tesla Organizations: Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Tesla, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association Locations: Berlin, Europe, Grünheide, Wolfsburg
The new policy calls for export controls and the screening of investments by German companies doing business in China to protect the flow of sensitive technology and know-how. The strategy echoes themes from the European Union that urge “de-risking” ties with China. “We do not want to decouple from China, but minimize our risks. This includes strengthening our European economy as well as reducing dependencies,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister. “The more diverse trade and supply chains are set up, the more resilient our country is,” she added.
Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, , , Annalena Baerbock Organizations: European Union Locations: China
Two shopping centers promptly sprang up to serve Russians looking for Western clothing, gifts, disposable diapers and alcohol. “It was a local, regional and national strategy to focus on turning toward Russia,” Mr. Roine said. More than 266,000 people from Russia crossed the nearby border station into Norway in 2019; last year, that number fell by more than 75 percent. For decades, the vast amounts of cod in the Barents Sea — home to one of the world’s last surviving stocks of the fish — have drawn people and businesses from both countries to this Arctic Circle community. Kirkenes’s most important industrial employer is Kimek, a shipbuilding company that has prospered by repairing commercial fishing boats known as trawlers, especially the Russian ones.
Persons: Russia ’, ” Mr, Roine Organizations: Arctic Council Locations: Russia, Soviet Union, Norway, Kirkenes
Why It Matters: Germany has long neglected military spending. Despite intense pressure from the United States, Germany last spent 2 percent of its G.D.P. on defense in 1991, a year after the reunification of the former East and West German nations, according to statistics from the World Bank. The United States is using incentives, including tax breaks, to lure businesses in the green energy and technology sectors. “Germany is increasingly falling behind when it comes to investment and location decisions,” said Tanja Gönner, general director of the German Federation of Industries.
Persons: Marcel Fratzscher, Lindner, , Tanja Gönner Organizations: World Bank, German Institute for Economic Research, German Federation of Industries Locations: Germany, United States, West, Russia, Ukraine
The NewsVolkswagen is replacing the chief executive at its luxury brand Audi, naming Gernot Döllner to take over from Markus Duesmann, as the company seeks to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles. Mr. Döllner, who has served as Volkswagen’s leading strategist, will start his new role on Sept. 1, Audi said in a statement on Thursday. Audi, although profitable, is struggling to convert to battery power and compete with the growing threat from Chinese carmakers. Herbert Diess, Volkswagen’s chief executive before Oliver Blume took over in September, brought Mr. Duesmann to Audi from BMW three years ago, with the hope that he could help the brand innovate and strengthen sales of its electric models. Audi is now working on its final generation of combustion engine models and plans to bring 10 new electric models to its lineup, ahead of plans to produce only E.V.s beginning in 2026.
Persons: Markus Duesmann, Döllner, Herbert Diess, Oliver Blume, Duesmann Organizations: Volkswagen, Audi, BMW
Adidas said its decision to sever ties with Ye cost the company €1.2 billion in lost sales and about €500 million in profit this year. Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, which is among the groups that will benefit from the proceeds of the sale, welcomed Adidas’s decision as one fitting the complexity of the problem. But other groups noted that despite Adidas’s pledge to donate the proceeds, Ye will still make money off the sales. The Yeezy brand became a defining force in the sportswear industry and an incredibly lucrative cornerstone for Adidas. Adidas said it was considering further releases of the Yeezy inventory, but it did not give a timeline.
Persons: Ye, Gulden, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd, Jonathan A, Greenblatt, Mr, , , Josef Schuster, Michael Jordan Organizations: Adidas, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social, Defamation League, Central Council of, Kanye, Nike Locations: Germany
European leaders complained for years that the United States was not doing enough to fight climate change. Officials have been traveling there to court one of Europe’s few homegrown battery companies, Northvolt. Led by a former Tesla executive, Northvolt is a small player in the global battery industry, but European leaders are offering it hundreds of millions of euros to build factories in Europe. Mr. Habeck visited in February to lobby the company to push ahead on its plan to build a factory near Hamburg, Germany. The company had considered postponing to invest in the United States instead.
Persons: Biden, Robert Habeck, Northvolt, Habeck Organizations: Northvolt, Tesla Locations: United States, Germany, France, Britain, China, South Korea, Vasteras, Stockholm, Europe, Hamburg
BERLIN — Germany’s coalition government was always an awkward trio of center-left Social Democrats, climate-conscious Greens and pro-business Free Democrats. Yet in the heady days after their election victory in 2021, the parties vowed to stick to a tradition of consensus-driven politics, keeping the drama behind closed doors. While the stakes would seem relatively minor, the level of vitriol has been anything but, reflecting a new era in which Germany’s once-staid politics have turned more fractious. No one is predicting a collapse of the coalition. But the public sparring has raised questions over how Germany will meet commitments to Europe’s climate goals — as well as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ability to maintain effective stewardship of Europe’s most powerful economy.
Volkswagen has sold its assembly plant and other operations in Russia to a local auto dealership, more than a year after the German carmaker ceased production in the country following the invasion of Ukraine, the company said on Friday. Under the deal, which required approval from the Russian government, a Moscow-based dealership called Avilon acquired the assets of Volkswagen Group Rus, the carmaker said. Neither company specified a sales price, but Russia media citing local records said Avilon paid about 125 million euros ($135 million). But outrage over Moscow’s brutal war in Ukraine, combined with the difficulties coping with tough economic sanctions aimed at punishing Russia, have made the Russian market less attractive. Mercedes-Benz announced last month that it had sold its Russia division, including an assembly plant, to Avtodom, a Russian investor, roughly a year after it had suspended local manufacturing and the export of passenger cars and vans to Russia.
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