Economic Council Germany

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Economic Council Germany

What is it?
- The Economic Council Germany (Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.) is a major German business and lobby group.
- It represents about 12,000 member companies from many sectors, including banking, insurance, automotive, chemicals, healthcare, and high tech.
- Its goal is to promote a social market economy, inspired by Ludwig Erhard and Germany’s economic growth after World War II.
- The council has historically had close ties to the conservative CDU party.

History and role
- The council was founded on December 9, 1963, in Bonn, then West Germany.
- It was created to give business a louder voice in government policy and to counterbalance employee influence within the CDU.
- Although independent in funding and thinking, it has long worked closely with the CDU. The council’s president traditionally participates in CDU Executive meetings as a permanent guest.

Structure
- The organization operates at national, state, and regional levels, with a main office in Berlin and representations in Brussels and New York.
- It holds regular events that connect businesses with policymakers, such as the annual Wirtschaftstag and Europe-related forums.
- Local and federal-level expert commissions focus on specific policy areas.

Presidents
- 1963–1970: Klaus Scheufelen
- 1970–1983: Philipp von Bismarck
- 1984–1989: Heinrich Weiss
- 1989–2000: Dieter Murmann
- 2000–2015: Kurt Joachim Lauk
- 2015–2019: Werner Michael Bahlsen
- Since 2019: Astrid Hamker

Aims and policies
- It supports a social market economy and pursues policies such as:
- A stronger European Union with less debt mutualisation
- Reducing government expenditure and simplifying the tax system
- Avoiding nationalisation that could hurt small and medium-sized firms (Mittelstand)
- An energy transition guided by market principles
- Balancing environmental goals with economic growth
- Tackling skilled-worker shortages, preserving tariff autonomy, and ensuring a sustainable pension system
- Improving healthcare quality and efficiency
- Increasing infrastructure investment
- Preventing artificial rent controls
- Making Germany a hub for research, innovation, and internet-driven growth

Views on EU climate policies
- In 2020, the secretary general suggested that COVID-19 should prompt the EU to consider delaying climate targets.
- In 2020, the council opposed giving the European Central Bank a formal role in climate policy, arguing it is a political issue outside the bank’s mandate.

Criticism
- In 2021, Lobbycontrol criticized the council for potentially undue influence within the CDU headquarters, following reports about close ties between some CDU politicians and business groups.

Note
- The Economic Council Germany continues to be a prominent voice for business interests in German politics, advocating for policies it sees as strengthening the economy while balancing social and environmental goals.