Germany Abandons Stricter Building Standards to Support Industry

The German government has decided to indefinitely postpone plans for more stringent building insulation standards in order to support the struggling building industry. The decision comes ahead of a meeting between industry leaders and Chancellor Olaf Scholz to address the sector's major slump. The industry has been calling for measures such as the abolition of a sales tax on property transactions and a government-backed credit program to offset high interest rates. Germany aims to build 400,000 apartments a year but has faced challenges in meeting this target.