German Chancellor Olaf Scholz labeled European Union (EU) regulations as one of the most significant issues for the German economy, promising to reduce bureaucracy and work alongside industry to boost growth as the country heads towards a recession. Speaking at the “Employers’ Day” event organized by the German Employers Federation in Berlin, Scholz highlighted how the excessive regulations by the EU led to “astonishing” bureaucratic practices. He emphasized the need to significantly reduce bureaucracy within the EU. Scholz expressed that the German economy has been negatively impacted by geopolitical conflicts and assured employers of freeing the economy from bureaucratic constraints. Referring to the EU’s new Supply Chain Act, which pushes companies to adhere to human rights and environmental protection standards in supply chains, Scholz stated that this would be eliminated. Scholz underscored the government’s efforts to reduce bureaucracy, increase investments, and create competitive energy prices to facilitate economic growth, noting a necessity for further expansion. He also mentioned the requirement for a skilled workforce in the country. The German economy faces challenges to growth due to rising interest rates, cyclical factors, and structural changes. Declining investments caused the economy to shrink by 0.1% in the second quarter of the year. The German Central Bank expects lower growth in the third quarter, while the Ifo Economic Research Institute considers further GDP declines possible in the same period. Any contraction in the economy in the third quarter would put Germany at risk of entering a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of GDP decline. After a decade of economic expansion, Germany experienced its first recession in 2020 due to the pandemic. Ifo revised its growth forecasts downwards for 2024 and the upcoming year to zero, citing weak investment and order conditions. Unusual inflation rates, high energy prices, reduced investments, weak external demand, and high interest rates led to a 0.3% contraction in the German economy last year compared to the previous year, making it the only contracting economy among the G7 countries. If Germany contracts again this year, it would be the sole declining economy among the G7 nations, similar to the situation in 2023.