László Andor, FEPS Secretary General invited Professor Gustav Horn (member of FEPS Scientific Council as well as the Federal Board of the German SPD, former director of IMK) to discuss the recent shift in the German economic policy paradigm. The key question is how the German doctrine differs in this crisis as compared to previous one. What generates this change, and what else we might expect beyond facilitating a new model EU budget for the post-pandemic recovery. Prof. Horn highlights the importance of the paradigm shift within the Social Democratic family itself, adding that his own thoughts have also evolved in the last 20-25 years. Andor and Horn agree that the sustainability of the current shift partly depends on the attitude of the young generation, which has already produced an important movement for more pluralistic economics (within academia and policy). During its Council presidency, it is worth adding that a better balanced economic philosophy helps Germany achieving a unifying role in the EU.