GOSLAR (dpa-AFX) - Germany needs to think more strongly about economic and geopolitical issues together, according to the auto industry. This was said by Hildegard Müller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), on Thursday at the official opening of the Traffic Conference in Goslar. Only as a leading economic nation can Germany lead the way on global issues such as combating climate change, Müller said. In the future, he said, the focus must remain on global trade. Disengaging from China, for example, would be fatal. "We can only solve global problems with China."

At the opening of the court day, Müller spoke in the Kaiserpfalz building on the topic of "Emission-free, digital and safe - strategies for the mobility of the future."

The current economic model is no longer a guarantee of prosperity, the VDA chief said. In order to prepare for the future, she sees five points as central: in addition to globalization, these are e-mobility, so-called e-fuels, road freight transport and CO2 trading.

More investment is needed, for example, in the charging and hydrogen infrastructure and the power grid, as well as in roads and railways. In order to achieve the climate targets, we also need to look at the vehicle fleet. So-called e-fuels could help make vehicles more climate-neutral. E-fuels are artificially produced fuels that are supposed to produce fewer CO2 emissions.

For three days, experts from the judiciary, science, public authorities and associations will debate issues of traffic law and road safety at the German Traffic Court Congress. The annual congress is one of the most important meetings of traffic experts in Germany. It ends on Friday with recommendations to the legislature.

In eight working groups, the experts want to discuss, among other things, a possible obligation for doctors to report people who are unfit to drive or the blood alcohol limit for e-scooters. In the run-up to the meeting, some experts and associations were in favor of adapting the blood alcohol limit to the higher limit for bicycles. Other associations such as the Automobil-Club Europa and also Goslar's mayor, Urte Schwerdtner (SPD), are critical of this. Instead, one could also think about a different classification of bicycles and e-bikes, said the former prosecutor and judge.

A working group will discuss air traffic for the first time this year. Next year, rail transportation will be discussed. In addition, to make the court day better known to younger people, students from Bielefeld University have been taking part in the working groups since this year.

In his speech, the president of the Traffic Court Day, Ansgar Staudinger, called for state liability in the event of errors by courts. "The state must learn: the judiciary is a service provider to citizens," said the law professor from Bielefeld University. Until now, judges have been personally liable only in the case of a criminal offense, i.e., deliberate obstruction of justice. "That is right," Staudinger emphasized. In the case of negligent errors by the court, no one has been liable so far, he said, and that must change. "Lawyers are also liable when they make mistakes," he said./xma/DP/mis