Minister Habeck, you have just been to Brazil, Colombia and Japan, interspersed with the crisis issues in Berlin – how many hours do you sleep at night?

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

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Heike Goebel

Editor responsible for economic policy, responsible for "The Order of the Economy".

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Julia Löhr

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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In weeks like these, it sometimes gets a bit of a sense of the time of day lost. But I sleep enough, don't worry.

In America and Europe, banks are reeling as they were 15 years ago. Are we facing the next big crisis after Corona and the energy price shock?

The European banking system is robust, and deposit insurance has reached a completely different level than it did back then. We are not in a systemic financial crisis today, but we see individual banks in Switzerland and the US that are struggling. I assume that the financial system can cope with that. There is an exchange within the federal government about the banks, but there are no crisis meetings.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has postponed the parameters for the 2024 budget due to the many spending requests. When will you come to an agreement?

In 2024 we will comply with the debt brake, we will have to comply with it ...

... what do you regret?

No. In principle, the suspension of the debt brake can only be justified by a macroeconomic disturbance. The pandemic was such an event, and so was the energy crisis resulting from Russia's attack on Ukraine. But we have made the energy crisis manageable and averted a severe recession. Luckily. It would be downright cynical to hope for the next crisis now, only to be able to suspend the debt brake again. I assume that we will enter calmer economic waters. The prospects for this are good. But that also means that we will have to economize.

What savings proposal do you have?

We will not get along with one. The Minister of Finance is familiar with the ideas of my ministry. But I will not discuss them publicly. Proposals that are discussed under the bright spotlight and the escalation of the Berlin operation rarely come into play. Then it is not a neutral proposal, but immediately one of the SPD, Greens or FDP, and that cannot come for that reason alone. Therefore, everyone is well advised to discuss things now concentrated and calmly with each other.

15 months after the Progressive Coalition took office, around 30 projects are stuck. Will the breakthrough come on Sunday in the coalition committee?

That's what I expect from all of us. The coalition committee must create momentum. This is feasible, because personally the mood in the coalition is intact. One thing is clear: we can only get out of it if everyone wins something. But that also means that everyone has to give something.

Which projects must now be taken off the table first?

Regardless of the specific topics of the coalition committee, we should quickly get the projects that are already well advanced. For me as Minister of Economic Affairs, for example, the Skilled Immigration Act is extremely important. It should quickly pass the cabinet. We are already short of a million workers. And a number of other things are also ready for decision – from my House the Competition Enforcement Act, the Energy Efficiency Act as well.

What is the probability that the traffic light will last until 2025?

110 percent.

The Federal Environment Agency says Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has "no plan" for meeting climate targets. How meaningful are the sector targets?