Latest Press Releases

The COVID-19 crisis has sparked a new debate on the debt brake. Initial proposals from the political arena are aimed at changing the German Basic Law to allow higher borrowing by the public sector. Dr. Sebastian Blesse, researcher in the “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” Department at ZEW Mannheim, comments on this matter.

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Today, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the new President of the United States. On his first day in office, we will already see some groundbreaking decisions, especially regarding the future course of US climate policy. Professor Sebastian Rausch, head of the Research Department “Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management” at ZEW Mannheim, comments on this matter:

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Today, the German Bundesrat is expected to pass the amendment to the Act Against Restraints of Competition (GWB). Professor Achim Wambach, president of ZEW Mannheim and member of the Monopolies Commission, comments on this matter:

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The Federal Statistical Office today released its first estimate of the decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at ZEW Mannheim, comments on this matter:

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Germany’s eventful six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union has now concluded with a trade deal with the UK and the prospect of an end to the seven-year negotiations between the EU and China on an investment agreement. Under Germany’s presidency, Europe also saw the adoption of both the COVID-19 recovery plan as well as the multiannual financial framework. The president of ZEW Mannheim, Professor Achim Wambach, comments on this matter:

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The European Union and the United Kingdom have agreed on a last-minute trade deal after tense negotiations. The president of ZEW Mannheim, Professor Achim Wambach, comments on this matter: “It is a relief that the wrangling over the withdrawal agreement and trade deal has finally been concluded, and that the incertitude has now come to an end. The agreement provides greater predictability and certainty for future trade relations between the EU and the UK.

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Today, the EU Commission is set to unveil the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts in Brussels. Professor Achim Wambach, president of ZEW Mannheim and member of the Monopolies Commission, comments on this matter: “The EU Commission’s efforts to establish new rules that take into account the fast-paced dynamics of digital markets and limit the market power of tech giants in advance is the right approach. In the future, it will be important to prevent individual companies in digital markets from becoming uncontrollably powerful in the first place.

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The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to expand the size of its pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) by 500 billion euros as well as to extend its earliest end date by nine months until March 2022. Furthermore, the Council has postponed the start of net repayments under the PEPP until 2024 at the earliest. The ECB is thus reacting to the renewed economic slowdown caused by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Friedrich Heinemann, head of the ZEW Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance”, comments on this matter.

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The video communications software provider Zoom has recently published its figures for the third quarter of 2020. ZEW economist Dr. Daniel Erdsiek, researcher in ZEW’s “Digital Economy” Department, comments on this matter.

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In its meeting yesterday, the German Bundestag’s Budget Committee approved a fund to promote start-ups. Dr. Georg Licht, head of the ZEW Research Department “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics” at ZEW Mannheim, comments on this matter.

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