Germany in Search of Independence: Will We Pay the Price?

Results from a new survey show that the majority of people in Germany are looking to reduce dependence on the economic powers of China and the United States. The survey indicates that 85 percent of participants believe that Europe should expand its economic relations with other countries to become less dependent on these two nations. While only 5 percent opposed this view, the main question is: Are people willing to pay more for this economic independence?

Costs of Economic Independence

The survey shows that 47 percent of Germans are willing to accept higher costs to achieve economic independence, while 33 percent oppose this idea. In this context, attention to areas such as energy, pharmaceuticals, and the defense industry is particularly interesting. Nearly half of those surveyed consider energy to be the most important area where greater independence should be achieved. 45 percent emphasized the importance of pharmaceuticals, and 40 percent mentioned the defense industry.

With rising prices and costs, there is concern about whether Germany can truly achieve these goals. In fact, the question arises as to whether people are ready to bear economic costs for greater independence or not?