Press

Ukraine has reserves for two thirds of the 34 raw materials classified as critical. At the same time, production of these critical materials is still very limited, as a new analysis by EconPol Europe shows. “It will take more than mining for Ukraine to be able to become a central partner for the European supply chains in the medium term,” says ifo researcher Isabella Gourevich. “Investments in processing and refining these raw materials would also have to follow – in Ukraine itself or in collaboration with EU countries.”

The President of the ifo Institute, Clemens Fuest, supports today’s interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB). “US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff policy has recently increased the risk of an economic downturn. At the same time, the inflation risk is likely to decrease,” says Fuest. According to him, the main reasons for this are the recent appreciation of the euro against the US dollar, the falling oil price, and an increasing supply of goods from China as a result of the US tariff policy. “Against this backdrop, the ECB’s move to cut interest rates further is the right one.” 

The amount and duration of benefits for short-time work and unemployment in Germany should be reduced or at least not increased any further. That is what the ifo Institute writes in a brief assessment for the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria. First and foremost, the experts see a reduction in the maximum period of entitlement to a short-time work allowance from the current 24 months to 12 or six months. This would give employees who are affected by structural change in their sector more incentive to change jobs quickly. The ifo Institute also advocates cuts, or at least a freeze, in the amount of support paid as citizen’s benefit (Bürgergeld; basic income support). “Higher benefits and longer periods hamper those affected in their search for new employment,” says ifo expert Volker Meier.