ContextKeynote speech by Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, at the Frankfurt Euro Finance Summit, Frankfurt am Main, 15 June 2026.
Why it mattersThe Bundesbank President's direct call to speed up investment in Germany, Europe's largest economy, by cutting planning delays.
- The German economy grows too slowly.
- Planning and approval procedures delay investment.
- Europe's financial markets remain fragmented.
- Give investment right of way in budgets and procedures.
- Implement the modernisation agenda of the administration.
- Unify Europe's financial markets.
Read the speech summary
1. Football and growth
Opening the Frankfurt Euro Finance Summit, the Bundesbank President joked that in the four years Germany won the World Cup, growth averaged about 4% against 3% normally, while admitting there is no causal link. A year after saying Germany could be a success story, he saw some progress but an even greater need for reforms.
2. Energy shock and rates
The trade dispute with Washington is unresolved, and the closing of the Hormuz shipping route has pushed energy costs up, with lasting effects on world trade in fuel. Euro area inflation climbed from slightly below 2% in January to 3.2% in May, with other prices now rising too; public measures to cut energy bills lowered it by about 0.4 point and will fade. Even after a reopening, oil supply needs months to recover. Market-based and household inflation expectations have risen, and staff projections show 3.0% this year and a return to 2% only in 2028. The ECB therefore raised rates by a quarter point, a move fully anticipated, leaving policy roughly neutral, with all options open for July.
3. Germany's outlook
The Bundesbank expects calendar-adjusted growth of 0.5% in 2026, 0.8% in 2027 and 1.4% in 2028, helped by cheaper energy, a firmer world economy and above all fiscal stimulus worth about 1.3 points of GDP in total, mainly defence and infrastructure.
4. Priority to investment
He called for giving investment the right of way: using the infrastructure and climate fund for truly additional projects, shortening planning and procurement through simpler rules and digital administration, and making Germany an attractive place to innovate. He singled out venture capital: deals equal 0.16% of GDP, about half the French ratio and a fraction of British and American levels. Only 5% of global venture funds are raised in the EU, so growing firms rely on foreign money and sometimes relocate. Cautious pension funds and insurers and thin exit markets explain the gap. National steps help, but Europe needs a single capital market, and a joint paper by the six largest EU finance ministers is an encouraging sign. Quoting a Dortmund football legend, he concluded that results are decided on the pitch: analyses must now turn into action, and if investment keeps priority, the German engine will speed up again, World Cup or not.