Euro gleich Teuro?

Der Euro in Europa - Deutschland

Germany

Jobs
Unemployment in Germany has passed the politically sensitive 4 million mark to 4.5 million, while seasonally adjusted unemployment has risen every month since the launch of euro notes and coins. Unemployment could be as high as 6 million when the hidden unemployed are taken into account, according to the Kiel Economic Institute in Germany. More than a quarter of a million jobs have been lost since the introduction of euro notes and coins.

Business
There have been huge numbers of business insolvencies in Germany since the introduction of the euro. Recent figures from the BDIU, the German Federal Insolvency Office, showed that 41,500 businesses have gone bust since the euro was launched – causing the loss of 650,000 jobs. This means that 1,800 Germans are losing their job every day because of failing businesses. Creditreform, another insolvency agency predicted that as many as 690,000 jobs could be lost in 2003 as a result of businesses going bust.

Industries
Every sector in Germany is being crippled by job losses. Up to 600,000 jobs could be lost in 2003 in the manual workers’ trade, according to a report on the state of the industry by the ZDH trade association. The construction industry has been especially badly hit, with 10,000 construction businesses going bust in 2002.

Prices
Research by the IFAV consumer research group has revealed that between June 2001 and February 2002, prises rose on 10,000 different products. Another more recent survey in the New York Times found that 80 percent of restaurants and cafes in Germany had increased their prices. The euro has been nicknamed the “Teuro” in Germany, which is a pun on the German word Teuer, which means “expensive”. 95 percent of Germans think that prices have risen since the launch of euro notes and coins.

Public opinion
Public dissatisfaction with the euro is very strong in Germany where 61 percent say that they want the mark back. There were two “consumer strikes” in Germany during the summer to protest against euro-related price rises. Germany dislike of the euro led to the retail chain C&A, deciding to accept Deutschmarks in their 185 shops throughout Germany.

Growth
Germany is very close to recession. Growth hit a nine-year low in 2002, at 0.2 percent. The German government has downgraded its growth projection for 2003 from 1.5 percent to 1 percent. However, most economists in Germany believe that growth will in fact be much lower. The DIW economic institute projects growth of 0.6 percent in 2003 and several economists have talked openly of “recession”. Dieter Hundt, the President of the German Employers’ Federation has said, “Germany is in the worst economic doldrums for 20 years” (Die Welt, 20 November).

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