Is this why the EU caved in to Boris? Germany's sinking economy sparks panic in Brussels
GERMANY has suffered a dramatic economic downturn, sparking concern across the European Union that Britain's departure from the EU is to blame.
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Angela Merkel is under mounting pressure after the so-called ‘engine of Europe’ admitted that its economy is “in trouble”. The announcement came just hours before a Brexit deal was announced at the EU summit in Brussels. Germany slashed its economic growth forecast for 2020 - a move that Berlin has blamed on geopolitical trade conflicts and Britain's decision to leave the EU.
Europe’s largest economy is expected to expand by just 1.0 percent in 2020, according to the the economy ministry.
This is down from a 1.5 percent forecast made just a few months ago.
Only Italy is expected to grow slower than Germany next year - sparking alarm among EU countries and putting pressure on Mrs Merkel.
Daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung remarked that Germany was becoming the “problem child” of Europe.
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Economy Minister Peter Altmaier tried to quell nerves around the German economy, insisting that there is “no threat of an economic crisis”.
Mr Altmaier blamed Brexit for the plunging economic outlook, urging an "orderly exit" to support the country's economic forecasts.
Germany is already believed to be in a technical recession, since it has suffered two successive quarters of negative growth.
This recession, the first in nine years, marks the end of a 'golden decade' for Germany's economy.
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Hours after this announcement, Brussels declared a deal between Boris Johnson and the EU.
The deal will go to the House of Commons for a crunch vote tomorrow, just two weeks before the 31st October deadline.
The German finance ministers also blamed the US-China trade war for the downturn.
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Earlier in the week, Angela Merkel told the German Bundestag that the country must retain its rebate as part of the next EU budget.
She told German politicians that the country faced an “excessive burden” as a result of Britain’s exit from the bloc.
The chancellor said: "Due to this increase, and Britain’s imminent exit from the EU, Germany will be excessively burdened when it comes to the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
"For that reason we have to talk about fair burden-sharing on the financial side and a rebate for Germany.”