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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong>Read more<\/p>\n Germany<\/a>‘s new government said Wednesday it expects Europe<\/a>‘s biggest economy to see minimal growth of 0.2% this year, with a forecast for 1.3% growth next year and 1.4% in 2027.<\/p>\n The outlook for 2025 is slightly higher than the previous government’s forecast in late April for zero growth this year, expanding to 1% in 2026. <\/p>\n The German economy has shrunk for the past two years and hasn’t seen significant growth for much longer. Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s government has made revitalizing it a priority since taking office in early May. <\/p>\n Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said in a statement that \u201cwe need to act, now\u201d on competitiveness and innovation. She noted that a significant part of the expected growth will come from the plans for high government spending, and even that will only be effective if investments are made quickly \u2014 requiring fast planning and approval processes, something that Germany so far has lagged on.<\/p>\n \u201cTo secure long-term growth, we must end the reform backlog \u2014 reduce energy costs, foster private investment, addres the tax burden that is high by international standards, dismantle bureaucracy, open markets and enable innovation,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Merz’s government has launched a program to encourage investment and set up a 500 billion-euro ($584 billion) fund to pour money into Germany\u2019s creaking infrastructure over the next 12 years. It is promising to cut red tape and speed up the country\u2019s lagging digitization.<\/p>\n A group comprising dozens of companies pledged in July to invest at least 631 billion euros in Germany over the next three years, a figure that included some previously planned investments but was designed to send a signal of confidence in the economy.<\/p>\n