High risks to future economic development ("Börsen-Zeitung")

The members of the German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE), among them Volker Wieland, have cut their growth forecast for 2019 and now expect German GDP to grow by 0.8 % and 1.7 % in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

According to the economic update, the pace of expansion of the German economy has declined noticeably. This was partly caused by temporary production problems in the automotive and chemical industries. At the same time, the underlying dynamics of the German economy have slowed.

At the presentation of the economic update, Wieland called on the government to consolidate at all levels, instead of bailing out banks such as NordLB with tax revenue, as the financial daily "Börsen-Zeitung" wrote. In his view, this need for consolidation holds true for all over Europe. Furthermore, the council members clearly argued against the currently discussed merger of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.

German Council of Economic Experts: Economic Update 2019 and 2020

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