Minister: German economic growth not satisfactory

German Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche expects slight growth in Germany this year, but she said the figures are not satisfactory.

The conservative politician made the remarks at the Energy Summit in Berlin organized by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt.

Reiche said that growth this year and next will be almost exclusively driven by government spending, with reference to multibillion, debt-financed special funds for action on climate change, infrastructure and defence.

Reiche is due to present the German government's annual economic report on Wednesday. German gross domestic product is expected to increase by 1% in 2026, according to Handelsblatt.

In October, Reiche anticipated growth of 1.3%. One reason for the weaker outlook is weak exports.

In 2025, Germany narrowly avoided a third year without economic growth, scraping into positive territory with a 0.2% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) over the year.

The minister reiterated her call for structural reforms in taxes, social security systems, the labour market and energy prices. She said that only if this succeeds, is the mountain of debt warranted.