MCI Livetalk with Astrid Hamker on the future of Europe.

As a committed president of the German Economic Council and a member of many other supervisory boards, Astrid Hamker draws future scenarios for Germany and Europe during the MCI Livetalk with MCI Rector Andreas Altmann. In doing so, she put forward eight theses that she feels are worthy of discussion:

Setting the course
Hamker believes that Germany has not had a good starting position when sliding into the COVID19 crisis. Too much bureaucratization, a strict data protection law and much more have damaged Germany's competitiveness. In her opinion, Germany must react quickly in order to safeguard the claim to prosperity that Germany has worked hard for in the last few decades.

Crisis intervention
Hamker sees the German government's rapid crisis intervention in the acute phase of the pandemic, such as VAT cuts and short-time work, as positive. "Crisis management is future management," Hamker emphasizes, stressing that every crisis can also be used as an opportunity.
But she also advises not to lose sight of shaping the future in the process. "Shaping the future must bring growth to the economy," she explains further. Government subsidies cannot go on forever.

New understanding of the role of the state
Ownership is the key word here for Hamker. She sees more potential in personal responsibility than in government intervention. As examples, she cites the rent cap in Berlin or the mother's pension.

Resilience of companies
What Hamker has taken away from her positions on various supervisory boards is that risk management has been assessed differently since the beginning of the pandemic and has taken on greater importance in advisory boards. This means that scenarios can be thought through in order to take countermeasures in an emergency situation. As an example, she mentions interrupted supply chains during the pandemic, which show the vulnerability of globalization to errors.

Pandemic prophylaxis
Currently, we cannot assume that this is the last pandemic we will have to deal with. Especially here, it would be important to think ahead in the procurement of medical equipment, but also in everyday things like structural organization of new work environments such as home office.

Geopolitical map
Hamker sees the close relations between Europe and North America as an important step into the future. A common understanding of trade or human rights will set the course for positive cooperation in the future.

Shaping the future
The current digital infrastructure offered us incredible opportunities at the beginning of the crisis, but Hamker still sees enormous catching up to do in order to be fit for the challenges we will face in Europe in the future. "We need to lay the foundations now for the innovations of the future," Hamker is convinced.

Super election year in September in Germany
Should massive changes occur in Germany in the fall 2021 elections, Hamker also sees changes in European politics and thus in the world.