SPD on the economy

The SPD wants to create a state fund of 30 billion euros that takes temporary stakes mainly in mid-sized companies. This is meant to strengthen their equity, creditworthiness and ability to invest as they shift to climate-friendly production. A new agency is to coordinate the transition.

The SPD wants a large state fund. It should hold 30 billion euros. The state uses it to own part of some companies for a while. This should help companies invest in new technology. A new agency should advise the companies.

The fund is to take strategic, time-limited stakes and thereby secure the independence and stability of firms. The platform names as targets companies switching to electric mobility, hydrogen or circular business models. An agency involving industries, unions and civil society is to coordinate and advise. Long-term public investment in climate-friendly technology and digitalization is meant to create additional demand. Money is also to be provided so small and mid-sized firms can do research directly with universities.

The SPD wants to speed up the transformation of the Rheinisches Revier (Rhenish lignite region) after the coal phase-out by simplifying how federal funds are awarded and shortening planning procedures. The goal is an industrial region with well-paid jobs covered by collective agreements. The same relief is to apply to affected hard-coal sites in the Ruhr area.

Coal mining is ending in the Rhenish coal region. The SPD wants new businesses to settle there quickly. Funding should be easier to get. Planning should become simpler too. This should also apply to cities in the Ruhr area.

State planning is to take the settlement of new business and industry into account, with simplified procedures for a special planning zone. The platform names Maßnahmengesetze (project-specific laws) as an important building block. The party describes the coal phase-out as the start of new opportunities. Ruhr cities affected by the end of hard-coal power generation are to be able to use these simplifications for the "Fünf-Standorte-Programm" (five-sites program).

The SPD wants to give municipalities more room for their own economic activity and launch tailored funding programs. Regional transformation councils are to pool local knowledge and revive public participation.

The SPD wants cities and towns to be able to do more business themselves. There should be fitting funding programs for this. Regions should get new councils. There, employers, unions, civic groups and politicians discuss the change together.

The platform sees regions and municipalities across the state as partners for good work. The transformation councils are to bring together employers and unions, civil society, and local and regional decision-makers. The reasoning is that change happens locally and the needed expertise is found there. The party names full employment with good jobs as the overarching goal.

The SPD wants to keep North Rhine-Westphalia an industrial state and to accompany the shift to climate-neutral production with an active industrial policy. Lead markets for climate-neutral basic materials are to be created, and the steel sector is to be secured with support and participation from the state, the federal government and the EU.

The SPD wants the state to remain a strong industrial region. Factories should become climate-friendly. The government should set clear rules and help. The steel industry should get money and support from the state, the federal government and the EU.

In the SPD's view, the transformation needs a strong state that sets a clear framework for industry. Lead markets for climate-neutral basic materials are to be built through binding recycling quotas, independent labels and innovation tenders, for example in public construction. For the steel industry, with 47,600 employees in the state, the program names funds and foundation models as possible forms of participation. Production is to be kept in the state so it can be converted to hydrogen. Job cuts from rationalization are to be cushioned socially.

The SPD wants to make it easier to start a business and to give founders new chances even after a failure. Social entrepreneurship is to receive more support, and a dedicated funding program is planned for startups founded by women.

The SPD wants to help people who start a company. Those who fail should get a new chance. Companies with social goals should get more funding. There should be a special funding program for women founders.

The program calls for attracting modern industries such as microchip production and for expanding infrastructure like hyperscalers, meaning very large data centers, across the state. Companies that combine economic and social aims are to get funding tailored to them. Social and ecological criteria are to be considered in public tenders. Existing startup advice and funding programs are to become more gender-equitable.

The SPD wants to strengthen rural areas with regionally tailored funding programs instead of uniform statewide funding. Broadband, infrastructure and health care are to be expanded and secured, and the closing of local hospitals is to end.

The SPD wants to strengthen villages and small towns. Each region should get the funding that fits it. Fast internet should come sooner. Hospitals in rural areas should no longer close. There should be more skilled workers.

The program notes that about six million people in the state live in rural areas and that commercial business has grown faster there than elsewhere. A research institute for socio-informatics is planned to work on quality of life and public services in rural industrial areas. Skilled-worker programs, links between universities and companies, and regional cooperation are meant to meet demand for workers. Multi-purpose community buildings and co-working spaces are to be funded. Local transit, early childhood education and care services are also included.

The SPD wants to improve conditions for municipally owned companies and strengthen the Sparkassen (public savings banks). It rules out privatizing the savings banks. Their employees should continue to be paid fairly under collective agreements.

Cities and towns own companies, for example for water, energy or buses. The SPD wants to make these companies stronger. The public savings banks should stay strong too. The SPD does not want to sell them to private owners.

According to the platform, municipal companies provide essential public services in housing, energy, waste disposal, transport, water, health, care and telecommunications. The SPD wants to improve their structures and support cooperation with local businesses. It rules out privatization of the savings bank sector. The platform notes pressure from low interest rates and growing federal and EU regulation, but still sees a dense branch network and closeness to customers as the banks' core. Collective bargaining coverage for employees should remain in place.

The SPD wants trade agreements to include enforceable rules on sustainability and working conditions and not to restrict public services. It backs compliance with and further development of the Supply Chain Act and the global minimum tax on corporate profits.

The SPD wants fair rules for world trade. Trade deals should protect the environment and workers. Poorer countries should get a fair chance. Companies should watch their supply chains. Big corporations should pay a minimum tax everywhere.

Trade agreements should not reduce the leeway of the state and municipalities in providing public services. The regulatory powers of the European Parliament and national parliaments should likewise not be narrowed by administrative trade committees. Foreign companies should not get better rights to sue than domestic ones. The Supply Chain Act is to be strictly observed and developed further. At the federal level, the SPD wants to help implement the agreed global minimum tax on corporations.