The Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck (The Greens), has signaled before the meeting that the state can provide support. This is opposed by the liberal FDP, which is also part of Germany's federal coalition government.
FDP representative Christoph Meyer acknowledges that the authorities have contributed to "inefficiency and bureaucracy" that now primarily burden Volkswagen. However, he says according to German media:
The main part of the solutions must come from Volkswagen itself.
What politics can contribute with is not "subsidies for just one industry" but "structural reforms that the entire business community can benefit from", he says.
The basis for the division is different views on the electrification of the car industry. While the number of electric cars continues to rise sharply globally, sales are currently declining in Europe. The German giants are complaining about the authorities' demands for cleaner cars and are warning that factories may have to be closed.
The EU also sees it as large support programs in China and the USA favoring competitors such as Tesla and BYD, and will take new steps next week in a process to introduce punitive tariffs on electric cars manufactured in China.
At Monday's meeting, Robert Habeck will meet with representatives of the largest German car manufacturers, the industry organization VDA, and the trade union IG Metall.
