Germany can give companies up to 50 billion euros to help companies

Germany has the fiscal power to mobilize further state aid of up to € 50 billion for companies hit by the second blockade to halt the spread of the new coronavirus. This was stated by the Minister of Economy Peter Altmaier. That amount is in addition to the grants already paid out of around € 80 billion and another € 23 billion under the short-work job protection scheme and € 130 billion in multi-annual incentive schemes, Altmaier told lawmakers. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has introduced an unprecedented number of rescue and stimulus measures since March that helped mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Europe's largest economy last year. Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 5% in 2020, down from the expected 5.1%, although it was the sharpest decline since the crisis of 2009, when GDP fell by a record 5.7%, the most in post-war history. However, the government in Berlin significantly lowered its forecast for GDP growth this year to 3% from the originally estimated 4.4% last autumn. The reason is the second blockade. Altmaier has painted in Parliament a picture of a two-speed economy in which industry is thriving, while the services sector is suffering from restrictions imposed in early November and tightened in mid-December.