Germany is criticized for its high current account surpluses: the export successes of the German economy were at the expense of the other EU states. Our study shows that this criticism is completely unjustified. On the contrary, a strong German economy creates added value and employment in Europe, study by Bavarian vbw says.

Demand from Germany provides almost 5 million jobs in the EU
For almost all EU countries, Germany is the most important or second most important export market. German imports generate added value of 246 billion euros and 4.9 million jobs in other EU countries. 180 billion euros or 3.4 million jobs alone account for the demand of German industry for intermediate and capital goods.

Germany as a growth driver
A more in-depth analysis shows that a dynamic German economy does not slow down the development in the partner countries, but supports the economy there. In a scenario in which the German economy stagnated until 2020, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the other EU states in 2020 is € 13 billion lower than in the base forecast.

Germany's competitiveness helps EU partners
Due to the high international competitiveness of German industry, companies from other countries are by no means ousted. A scenario calculation shows that a deteriorated competitiveness of Germany leads to growth losses in the other EU. A temporary increase in unit labor costs in Germany would mean that economic output in the entire EU would be € 41 billion lower by 2024: by € 32 billion in Germany and by € 9 billion in the other EU countries.

Hospodářský vliv #Německa na ostatní země EU je značný. Pokud jde o #Česko a #Slovensko, pak lze říci, že je mimořádně silný. Znovu to ukazuje poslední studie Prognos AG pro bavorské sdružení vbw. https://t.co/qnCspPuiiv @Hospodarky pic.twitter.com/ycHRIc5UHN

— Václav Lavička (@Lavicka1) March 23, 2018

Read the study.

About vbw

We are the voluntary, cross-industry and central interest group of the Bavarian economy and represent 132 Bavarian employers and business associations as well as 40 individual companies. In the branches of the vbw member associations, there are around 4.7 million employees working in social insurance throughout Bavaria.

We also represent common economic, social and sociopolitical interests as the state representation of the BDA (Confederation of German Employers' Associations) and the BDI (Federation of German Industries). This gives us the freedom to act economically while at the same time ensuring social peace.