The new head of the German Industry and Trade Association (DIHK), Helena Melnikov, has warned of economic damage caused by border controls. “The German economy thrives on openness, not on isolation” Melnikov told the Handelsblatt in an interview.
Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union’s candidate for chancellor, has proposed introducing controls at Germany’s external borders to curb illegal migration. Melnikov countered that Germany has become economically strong by having companies import goods, process them and re-export them abroad, a process that only works with open borders, not with the construction of fences.
As a lawyer and the DIHK’s new chief since the start of the year, Melnikov also warned against the plans of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. “There are ideas that benefit no one” she said, adding that the AfD’s migration policy could exacerbate the shortage of skilled workers and that, in the event of a withdrawal from the EU, Germany would be a “very small player” in the competition with China and the United States and that plans to dismantle wind turbines raise questions about the right to property. “All of this means nothing good for the economy.