If rules are clear, procedures digital and free of red tape, decisions reliable and swift, growth emerges without the need for new subsidies. Modernizing the state is therefore not a peripheral issue, but a key factor for industrial competitiveness.

German industry—from publicly traded corporations to medium-sized family-owned businesses—relies on an efficient and straightforward legal framework. Unnecessary bureaucracy costs time and money, hinders innovation, and increases the location disadvantage. Industrial small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, suffer from the multitude of government regulations, as they often lack the resources to cope with complex requirements. Reducing costly bureaucracy is therefore SME policy in the best sense of the term.

On July 1, 2026, the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition committee reached an agreement on an income tax reform designed primarily to provide tax relief for low- and middle-income earners and families. The total tax relief is expected to amount to approximately ten billion euros per year, and the measures are to be implemented gradually in 2027 and 2028.

360° Resilienz – unerschütterlich in einer Welt im Wandel. Unter diesem Motto sind in dieser Woche mehr als 30 junge Führungskräfte aus Mittelstand, Beratung und Industrie nach Berlin gekommen.

German Mittelstand-companies are under pressure. The global and European environments are becoming increasingly confusing. The business-location is showing economic and structural weaknesses. Markets as well as value-creation-networks and supply-chains are volatile. Companies are facing challenges in their digital and ecologic transformations. What scenarios in 2030 will the industrial Mittelstand have to prepare for? In this interview, family entrepreneur Hans-Toni Junius shares his perspectives.

The extreme scenario as a thought experiment: As a result of massive tensions between the member states, which lead to an extreme blockade policy, the states agree to abolish the EU treaties. In the course of this, the euro is also abolished as a common currency and the Bundesbank reintroduces the Deutschmark. Resentments that were thought to have been overcome long ago resurface. All former EU states slide into a massive recession. Companies and politicians try to reorganise themselves in a panic.

Scenarios are not predictions of future developments, but are to be understood as sharpened figures of thought or thought experiments. They help us to better understand the world and to categorise present events in medium to long-term future contexts.

Party political tactics are preventing rapid reforms and investments, extremist forces are gaining ground. Germany is falling further behind in the competition between business locations. There is a gradual loss of competitiveness and innovative capacity in the German economy, while powerful companies from abroad are catching up. The intra-European and global disparity in location factors is leading to the relocation of large companies and SMEs, and value creation networks are disintegrating in some cases.

In response to the crises of the 2020s, decisive political, entrepreneurial and social reactions are setting the course for an economic upturn in Germany, driven by a leading role in the digital and green transformation. For example, infrastructure modernisation is being accelerated and the social value of performance orientation is increasing. The accelerated pace of transformation offers opportunities, but also challenges for SMEs.

The increasing withdrawal of the USA from Europe is creating momentum for deeper EU integration with security policy as a new nucleus. This also creates space for joint strategies in other fields, such as the data economy, raw materials, energy and the capital market. European cross-border innovation and value creation alliances are asserting themselves in a world with high volatility and rapidly changing alliances.

The systemic conflict between the USA and China is escalating into a decoupling of global trade activities. Germany's industrial SMEs are being put to an existential test. The loss of supplier relationships and sales markets must be compensated for in this challenging environment. There will be a long-term loss of prosperity in Germany.

Die Modernisierung und Digitalisierung der deutschen Verwaltung stehen vor großen Herausforderungen. Unternehmen und Bürgerinnen sind unzufrieden, und die Industrie ist auf eine funktionierende Verwaltung angewiesen. Die deutsche Industrie fordert konkrete Maßnahmen, um die Verwaltungsmodernisierung voranzutreiben.

The current EU definition of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) does not adequately reflect the unique characteristics of Germany’s medium-sized businesses and family-owned companies. It is long overdue to set appropriate thresholds for workforce size and financial metrics and to take qualitative criteria into account. It would also be helpful to view “mid-caps” as a supplementary category and to incorporate them into policies for medium-sized businesses.