The German economy is in deep crisis, with gross domestic product likely to contract 0.1% this year, the BDI industry association said on Tuesday, putting it on track for three years of declining growth for the first time since reunification.

German industry has for years called out high energy prices and poor economic policies for making them uncompetitive. A coalition of SMEs is now saying enough is enough.

Germany has become unattractive for investors, "that is how Rainer Dulger, president of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, summed up the situation at the last employers' conference in late October 2024.