SPD on the economy

The SPD wants to bring new industrial companies to Brandenburg and to modernize existing ones and make them climate-neutral. To do this, the state's economic development agency would be strengthened. Small businesses, skilled trades and tourism would also continue to receive support.

The SPD wants to bring more industry to Brandenburg. Existing companies should become modern and stop harming the climate. The state should help companies more. Small companies and tourism should also get help.

The agency Wirtschaftsförderung Brandenburg would work with municipalities to develop key commercial sites and build innovation hubs, for example at universities or close to companies. Cooperation with regional development agencies would continue. For micro and small businesses, which the platform says make up about 80 percent of all companies, the SPD wants to strengthen competitiveness and the capacity to innovate. The joint innovation strategy with Berlin would be developed further, and Brandenburg would be expanded as a tourism region. According to the platform, hydrogen plays a key role on the path to climate neutrality.

The SPD wants to make planning and permitting procedures for the transformation of the economy much faster. To do this, agencies would get more staff, red tape would be cut and maximum deadlines would apply to permits.

Companies often need a permit from an agency. This often takes a long time. The SPD wants it to go faster. Agencies should get more staff. There should be fixed deadlines for processing.

The permitting agencies would continue to receive additional staff. According to the platform, this would give companies planning certainty. In addition to maximum processing times, the platform provides that applicants quickly learn whether their documents are complete. Permits would become simpler overall.

The SPD wants to push at the federal level for master craftsman training to become free of charge. This would put the master qualification on an equal footing with a university degree. Skilled trades would also get support with digitalization and recruiting young talent.

People who want to become a master craftsman must pay for it. The SPD wants to end these costs. Studying at a university is free too. The state should also help the skilled trades in other ways.

The platform cites nearly 40,000 skilled-trade businesses with more than 160,000 workers in Brandenburg. According to the platform, the master title stands for quality and is often needed to start or take over a business. The state's Meistergründungsprämie (a start-up bonus for master craftsmen) would continue. The SPD promises the trades support with digitalization and with securing trainees and skilled workers.