Better protection for infrastructure in Germany

The attack on the Berlin power grid at the beginning of January showed "that we need to better protect critical infrastructure," explained Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Thousands of households were without electricity for days; heating systems and water pumps failed; schools, care homes and hospitals were also affected.

The central aim of the governing coalition is to protect society, strengthen resilience and defend the political order. Greater resilience also means strengthening the economy and reducing dependencies. The Federal Chancellor emphasised: "We agree that any kind of strength - whether military or technological - is based on our economic performance."

Better protection for critical infrastructure

From the Chancellor's point of view, the protection of critical infrastructure takes precedence over the desire for transparency. Above all, this means that information relating to critical infrastructure is no longer made so readily accessible to the public or kept publicly available. The federal and state governments should therefore examine how much information they disclose about these key infrastructure facilities in future.

In order to better protect selected critical infrastructure against sabotage, hybrid threats and cyberattacks, the level of protection is to be increased. The aim is to be able to carry out repairs more quickly and also provide emergency supplies. This requires investment.

More competition, more sovereignty

The leadership of the coalition has agreed to make further contributions to a strong economy and a strong society, said the Chancellor. To achieve this, we need to be faster and more focused, particularly in the areas of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. Central to all this is the immigration of skilled workers and the reform of social security systems, the reform of the labour market, better infrastructure, cheaper energy and the reduction of bureaucracy.