Economic Council Germany

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The Economic Council (Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.) is a major German business association representing the interests of around 12,000 small and medium-sized firms. [1] Members are drawn from all sectors of the German economy including banking and finance, insurance, the automotive and chemical industries, healthcare and high-tech. On the basis of this broad membership base the Economic Council claims to represent the interests of the German entrepreneurial community as a whole, as opposed to lobbying for one particular business sector. [2]

Contents

The aim of the council is to promote a social market economy based on the principles of Ludwig Erhard, economy minister of the Federal Republic of Germany between 1949 and 1963 and widely regarded as the initiator of Germany’s Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) during the 1950s. [3] Although the organisation is both financially and ideologically independent it has traditionally had close ties to the free-market liberal wing of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel. For this reason it is referred to as the Economic Council to the CDU, which is in fact the literal translation of its German name. This description can also be attributed to the link with Erhard, who was one of the founding members of the association. [4] The council's president is entitled ex officio to participate in meetings of the CDU Executive as a "permanent guest", including the right to speak. [5]

History

The Economic Council was founded as a coalition of professional German entrepreneurs on 9 December 1963 in Bonn, then the capital of West Germany. The aim of the council was to give firms and entrepreneurs the opportunity to have a greater say in government policy. In the words of Alphons Horten, CDU politician and one of the co-founders of the association, "There was a growing conviction in the business community that politicians should pay more heed to economic reason." [6] An additional aim of the original founders and board members in setting up the council was to act as a counterweight to the increasingly influential employee committees within the CDU party itself.

The 50th anniversary of the council in 2013 was marked by a series of high calibre events, the pinnacle of which was the annual Wirtschaftstag. Guests included Chancellor Angela Merkel, ECB president Mario Draghi, President of the German Industry Federation Ulrich Grillo and Deutsche Bank Co-Chief Jürgen Fitschen.

Presidents

Structure

The Economic Council is present at all levels of government with a main federal office in Berlin, so called Landesverbänden or state associations in the provincial capitals (which themselves are divided into regional sections), and more recently with representations in Brussels (2000) and New York City (2006), in recognition of the important role played by international institutions in the decision making process. [7]

Reflecting the key aim of the council as set out by the original founders, regular events are held at all levels of the organisation giving members the chance to exchange ideas with key decision makers from the political sphere. Similarly politicians hear first-hand the concerns of the business community. Key events in the Economic Council’s calendar are the annual Wirtschaftstag, an event which brings members together with high ranking guest speakers from the political and economic worlds, the so-called Kompetenz Zentrum which provides a platform for companies to showcase new technologies and innovative ideas, and the Europe Symposium held in Brussels. [8] The smaller state associations have similar, albeit smaller expert commissions which deal exclusively with those issues which particularly affect them at a more local level.

Federal expert commissions

A key component of the work in the federal office in Berlin is the Bundesfachkommission or expert commission. There is one such commission for each policy area. [9] These commissions are each chaired by a high-ranking chief executive. A typical agenda includes parliamentary reports from politicians, presentations from academics, policy experts and leading entrepreneurs, as well as the formation of official positions on key government policy.

As of 2014, federal expert commissions exist for the following policy areas:

Aims

In promoting a social market economy based on the principles of Ludwig Erhard the economic council currently advocates the following policies: [10]

The Young Economic Council

The Young Economic Council was established in 1987. The aim is to give young entrepreneurs and members of the business community under the age of 35 the opportunity to engage with politicians and to give more weight to those issues which are of particular importance to a younger generation. As such, topics which have recently been brought to attention include the current level of public debt, labour market policies which are geared towards a changing demographic, and an environmentally sustainable energy policy. These initiatives were promoted as part of a broader programme titled "intergenerational justice". [11] [ non-primary source needed ] As part of this broader initiative the young economic council put an emphasis on the following two issues in 2013, “The compatibility of family and professional life” and “The challenges posed by the internet.” [12] The young economic council currently has around 700 members and is organised in much the same way as its sister organisation, with a contact point in the main federal office in Berlin and 14 separate state associations. The expert commission "Younger Generation" meets at the federal level and formulates positions on key policy issues which particularly affect younger businessmen and women, as well as future generations. [12] The highlight in the calendar of the young economic council is the annual Junger Wirtschaftstag, an event which brings together members from all the state associations to engage with key decision makers and guest speakers. In 2013 the event took place in the headquarters of the Commerzbank in Frankfurt am Main and included speeches from Sabine Lautenschläger, Vice President of the German Central Bank and Julia Klöckner, deputy chairman of the CDU at the federal level and chairman of the party in Rhineland-Palatinate. The young economic council also organises a so-called Generation Forum a network orientated event which as opposed to a more traditional event with speeches and panel discussions takes on more of a workshop format. The Generation Forum is organised in cooperation with the Association of Christian Democratic Students (RCDS).

Views on EU climate policies

In April 2020, Wolfgang Steiger, the council's secretary general, wrote in a commentary for Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany should lead the European Union to consider the "deferment of climate policy targets". [13]

In August 2020, Steiger expressed opposition to plans by the European Central Bank (ECB) to make climate action an integral component of its monetary policies, saying that climate action was a "political task" for which the ECB had "no political mandate". [14]

Criticism

In March 2016, in the wake of several scandals about CDU politicians who had been accused of having overly close ties with business, the non-profit organization de:Lobbycontrol published a report in which it criticized the council for its undue influence exerted in the CDU headquarters. [5]

Literature

Related Research Articles

Ludwig Erhard German politician

Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard was a German politician affiliated with the CDU, and the second Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic reforms and economic recovery in his role as Minister of Economic Affairs under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1949 to 1963. During that period he promoted the concept of the social market economy, on which Germany's economic policy in the 21st century continues to be based. In his tenure as Chancellor, however, Erhard lacked support from Adenauer, who remained chairman of the party until 1966, and failed to win the public's confidence in his handling of a budget deficit and his direction of foreign policy. His popularity waned, and he resigned his chancellorship on 30 November 1966.

The social market economy, also called Rhine capitalism and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free market capitalist economic system alongside social policies that establish both fair competition within the market and a welfare state. It is sometimes classified as a coordinated market economy. The social market economy was originally promoted and implemented in West Germany by the Christian Democratic Union under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1949. Its origins can be traced to the interwar Freiburg school of economic thought.

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References

  1. ↑ "Was ist der Wirtschaft?" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Wer ist Mitglied im Wirtschaftsrat?" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Die Soziale Marktwirtschaft - Ludwig Erhard und das Wirtschaftswunder". Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Ist der Wirtschaftsrat unabhängig?" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 Roßmann, Robert (16 March 2021). "Stammgast im Zentrum der Macht" [Regular guest at the center of power]. Sueddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Horten, Alphons (1997). Rückblick auf ein Jahrhundert. Erinnerungen eines Zeitzeugen. Freiburg im Breisgau. p. 115.
  7. ↑ "Wie ist der Wirtschaftsrat aufgebaut?" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Was macht der Wirtschaftsrat?" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Bundesfachkommissionen". Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Themengebiete des Wirtschaftsrates" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Junge Wirtschaft trifft junge Politik" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Junger Wirtschaftsrat" (PDF). Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Douglas, Eliot (11 April 2020). "Coronavirus: German lawmaker calls for delay to EU climate targets". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Wehrmann, Benjamin (6 August 2020). "Germany's CDU Economic Council rejects ECB role in climate action as "pure industrial policy"". Clean Energy Wire / Handelsblatt . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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