Dirk Brandes, December 5, 2024, Aviation and CDU

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/203, p. 26322. 

Herr President. Ladies and gentlemen. 

This motion rather impressively shows what kind of green child the Union has become. The CDU is not only the party of the bungled energy transition, of the ban on combustion engines, and of illegal migration; the CDU as of now is also responsible for the decline of the aviation branch in Germany. 

            Björn Simon (CDU/CSU): That is just nonsense! You propose nothing!                                Zero!

In your motion, you demand more strongly promoting climate-neutral flying. What is climate-neutral flying? I fear some soon fly out of the parliament climate-neutral. Yet we do not thereby bring forward the aviation branch. Your 15 point motion reads like a position paper of the Greens. With money from the aviation tax and the CO₂ pricing, you want to drive forward the de-carbonization. Yet a few weeks ago, you complained that German aviation finds itself in the worst crisis, and now you want to redistribute still more money in climate projects. 

We now have a brief window of time so as to reduce with parliamentary majorities the costs for aviation. 

            Michael Donth (CDU/CSU): For that, there is no majority!

Yet what does the CDU/CSU do out of fear that the AfD could put this thing to a vote? I say to you: Out of pure panic, you form a backroom coalition with the SPD and Greens. 

            Stefan Gelbhaar (Greens): Boring!

You paralyze this parliament and stuff the daily order with alibi motions! 

            Götz Frömming (AfD): Right! Well reckoned!

With your firewall, you continue to prevent a policy for the future. You are not part of the solution for this country but, with your Habeck friend Merz, you are presently the biggest problem for Germany. 

We want no aviation tax, no kerosene tax, and no CO₂ pricing. If you want to ruin the CDU and CSU traditional parties, that is your matter. Nevertheless, stop mimicking the innovation driver. You have already with your e-mobility led the automobile branch into crisis. I believe that suffices. 

The AfD would now drive forward innovation and progress. We Germans were once the pioneers of aviation and automobiles. With you, we are just pioneers of bureaucracy and ideology. That will change, ladies and gentlemen; that, I promise you. The voters will decide wisely. 

I wish you a good night. 

 

[trans: tem]

Dirk Brandes, April 27, 2023, Trucking Regulations

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/100, p. 12114.

Frau President. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen.

Who hoped in regards the draft law put forward that the Federal government finally more resolutely defends German logistics companies from the price and wage dumping, he is bitterly disillusioned. 

Beate Müller-Gemmeke (Greens): You yourself do that in part by means of mail box firms. Do not forget!

The backdoors for sozial dumping by means of foreign transportation companies continue to remain open because there is neither control nor a concrete applications area for the new dispatch regulations.

Despite various hearings with those affected, you have still not recognized why our transportation businesses throw in the towel and many livelihoods are threatened and why 80,000 professional truckers are lacking in Germany, a growing tendency, even though it is thus actually logical: The pay of our freight drivers is exactly as bad as the hygiene and supply situation at many autobahn rest stations.

A German freight driver in the 90s could still earn 5,000 marks net and thereon feed a family; the pay today is scarcely sufficient to live on. That is a shame! Due to your energy and tax policy and your trucking fee increase, German transport costs are at a record level! At the same time, you foist aggressive wage and price dumping from eastern Europe on our truckers.

The mobility package’s amendment of the dispatch regulations is in fact a correct step, yet remains ineffective when regulation violations are not effectively prosecuted and punished as my preceding speaker has also plainly stated. Only 2.6 percent of domestic hauls [Kabotage-Fahrten] in German territory are in any way controlled. The police confirm: Our control authorities are not noticeable on our autobahns.

German money fines for illegal conduct of foreign shippers are laughable in comparison with other European countries. At the same time, the BALM [Federal Logistics and Mobility Office] guarantees large-scale rebates for eastern European domestic haul violators and indeed up to 50 percent according to the Deutschen Verkehrs-Zeitung. An insanity, ladies and gentlemen! Exactly that leads to that foreign firms become ever more blatant and ever more shamelessly exploit their drivers.

For fair competition conditions, we simply need more control. In our motion [Drucksache 20/6534], we make quite concrete proposals for that:

First. The BALM needs to be outfitted with additional positions in the roads control service.

Second. Money fine provisions need to be sharpened. That also means not to shrink from expelling for a time foreign transportation firms notable for unfair competition.

Third. Rebates of money fines for foreign shippers are no more to be allowed.

And fourth – the most important which needs to be implemented: The fees data need to be finally made available to our regulatory authorities, ladies and gentlemen. Thereby only do we effectively thwart fraud in regards domestic haul and sozial provisions.

Let us therefore concern ourselves that German shippers do not stand there with empty pockets and German professional drivers without a pay check. With our motion, you receive a tool that gives German logistics a future. Vote in favor of our motion, or no longer discuss with logisticians and drivers at the next hearings!

Many thanks.

 

[trans: tem]