Habeck proposes investment premium and thematic data protection

Companies should be able to get ten percent of their investments back from the state as a bonus – This is the core of the proposals put forward by Robert Habeck, the designated Green candidate for chancellor, to boost the German economy. To this end, a special fund called the "Deutschlandfonds" is to be created and issued over five years. The investment premium would either be offset against taxes that would otherwise be due, or distributed to enable investments even in the event of losses. A second set of projects is also to be financed from this fund: It is urgent to look at "structural factors", Habeck said Wednesday afternoon in Berlin. Investments must be made in railroads, bridges and digitalization.

Habeck did not specify the extent to which digitization investments should be funded, but referred to a calculation by the Federation of German Industries, according to which the expansion of digital infrastructures will cost 60 billion euros in the coming years. However, the industry has recently always emphasized that its projects are adequately financed and has expressly rejected state subsidies.

Habeck also wants to enable state guarantees for investment projects, which are often used for foreign investments, for projects within Europe. This would reduce the risk for investors. The idea is likely to play a role, particularly in light of the Intel debacle and the looming Wolfspeed fiasco.

In a completely changed world situation, Germany's economy needs an update, says the Green. Habeck stated that he sees himself as an "advocate for the economy". The future chancellor candidate is also calling for technology-friendly regulation. In his paper, he proposes, among other things, an EU innovation agency such as DARPA; the experience with SPRIND in Germany has been good. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) finances research projects for the US armed forces.

Habeck wants data protection to be supervised thematically

Habeck also wants to change data protection –, which the minister has already hinted at recently at the Digital Summit. However, he is only specific on one point: Habeck wants data protection authorities to be responsible for specific topics instead of federal states. "The lead responsibility for certain topics should lie with individual states so that start-ups, for example, do not have to renegotiate with the relevant state authority for every clinic when using (pseudonymized) health data", Habeck's proposal states. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and the federal states would be primarily responsible for this changeover.

He also calls for a Germany app "on which all social benefits can be applied for directly". Habeck did not reveal on Wednesday why social benefits, of all things, should be the subject of a Germany app when every office is already required by law to forward requests to the relevant authorities. However, he is also in favor of more "one-stop-shop" solutions for interaction between citizens and authorities. The Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs would like to discuss his proposals with the other members of the Federal Government as well as with the CDU and CSU (due to their role in the federal states).

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