Overview

• Participants pledged €631 billion in private investments but unveiled few genuinely new projects.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz framed the initiative as proof that “Germany is back” to boost private capital inflows.
• Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil renewed commitments to cut bureaucracy, speed approvals and lower energy costs.
• Observers lamented that smaller businesses and labor unions were excluded from the discussions.
• Calls intensified for better capital market access to mobilize the €3.3 trillion in domestic savings for growth.