Schwerin (dpa/mv) – The proposal for another public holiday on May 9 has been rejected by the chambers of industry and commerce (IHKs) in the north-east. “This incredible ignorance of the economy must finally come to an end. Mr. Dahlemann obviously completely ignores the analytical statements of the economy,” said the executive president of the IHKs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Matthias Belke, on Thursday in Schwerin in response to a suggestion from Head of State Chancellery Patrick Dahlemann.
The SPD politician Dahlemann had previously suggested making Europe Day, which takes place on May 9th, an additional holiday. The EU Parliament had already proposed this in May as part of a joint position on the reform of European electoral law. The majority of parliamentarians were in favor of voting on this date throughout Europe and declaring this day a public holiday in all member countries.
On May 9th, the Europe Day, the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed the Coal and Steel Production Community in 1950, a forerunner of the EU.
Belke sees an additional public holiday as a burden and referred to the fact that the state government recently implemented International Women’s Day on March 8 as a public holiday. The industry representative also mentioned the numerous existing problems for companies in the country, including the disrupted supply chains caused by the pandemic, the shortage of skilled workers and the extreme increase in energy prices. “For the economy, an additional public holiday costs an estimated 60 million euros in MV alone,” said the IHK President.
