Volker Wieland: "There is still a long way to go to achieve price stability" (Die Welt)

In an interview with the German newspaper "Die Welt", Prof. Volker Wieland has warned of an intensified negative trend in industry. According to Wieland, the negative trend had already been going on since 2017, and now the energy crisis had hit the German economy deeply.

"In the medium term, it can be assumed that energy-intensive industry in particular will invest significantly less in Germany and relocate production massively abroad," Wieland said. He called on politicians to extend the EU Emissions Trading System for energy and industry (EU-ETS) to transport and buildings in order to cap emissions across the EU.

Wieland believes that inflation has not yet peaked in Europe. Whether the inflation rate is 10.6 or 10.0 per cent makes little difference. In his opinion, further interest rate hikes are necessary. The real interest rate is still negative, he said. "In perspective, interest rates would have to be significantly above inflation again in 2023," Wieland said. Pressure from France and Italy to stop raising interest rates was high. But "it is important to counter this." In Wieland's view, even with further interest rate hikes, the countries are in a position to bear their debts.

Die Welt: "Es bleibt ein weiter Weg zur Preisstabilität"