German business alliance raises investment pledge to €850 billion as Merz promises reforms

Investment pledges and corporate backing

On Wednesday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined business leaders at the Mosaikhalle in the former Siemens headquarters in Berlin's Siemensstadt, a venue designed by Cesar Klein that previously hosted chancellors Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. The gathering marked the first annual review of the Made for Germany initiative, which was established one year earlier at the Federal Chancellery by 61 founding members. Siemens chief executive Roland Busch reported that member companies had invested more than €200 billion in Germany since the alliance began in 2025. With membership expanding to roughly 150 enterprises, including Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank, the initiative raised its total investment commitment through 2028 to more than €850 billion, up from an initial target of €631 billion.

Calls for structural reform and AI adoption

Addressing executives alongside Roland Busch and Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing, Merz described Germany as the world's best investment location. Corporate representatives noted that state infrastructure spending from debt-financed special funds had prompted economic institutes to lift their 2026 growth forecasts. However, business leaders stressed that Germany requires predictable policy conditions, reduced bureaucracy, faster permitting procedures, and competitive energy costs to sustain economic momentum. Sewing pointed to a Deutsche Bank survey showing that four out of five surveyed global investors saw Europe gaining importance, with Germany serving as their primary European destination.

Sewing called for deeper European capital markets to mobilize private investment:

This momentum must now be maintained.

Executive leaders also urged the government to prevent reform debates from degenerating into distribution battles. Busch said that structural reforms are essential if the country is to regain dynamic annual growth rates above 2%. Busch highlighted industrial artificial intelligence as a generational opportunity for Germany, urging firms to leverage the proprietary data of the industrial Mittelstand. Merz echoed that point, observing that no other country possesses such a diverse and deeply layered mid-sized industrial sector. He conceded that the economy has not yet achieved a self-sustaining upturn, pledging regulatory relief and deeper European Union single market integration.

Coalition friction and upcoming legislative steps

The Berlin assembly took place against a backdrop of legislative friction within the ruling coalition. On Wednesday morning, the federal cabinet passed a nursing care reform package after resolving an impasse with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which had briefly withdrawn its support. Merz defended the agreement during the evening session as evidence of his administration's ability to implement reforms.

This is another building block to limit non-wage labor costs, stabilize our social security systems, and improve the willingness to invest in Germany.

Additional policy disputes remain on the immediate federal agenda. Merz confirmed that the coalition committee will convene next week to address labor market flexibilization and pension legislation. The pension proposals remain contentious within the coalition, particularly regarding SPD opposition to ending early retirement without deductions after 45 contribution years. Federal Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil addressed the business initiative earlier in the day, ahead of a government investment summit scheduled in Berlin in roughly three weeks.