Status: 04.10.2022 18:54
The government wants to support people and companies in the energy crisis with a protective shield of 200 billion euros. But there is still a lot that needs to be clarified. Now the meeting of the federal and state governments has begun – expectations are subdued.
A package of measures of up to 200 billion euros is intended to protect consumers and companies from high energy prices in the wake of the Ukraine war. That’s what the federal government planned. Gas and electricity prices should be capped. There should be liquidity and equity support for companies.
But some details are still open. The federal states still see a great need for discussion. They insist on a speedy clarification of how much the planned aid for private households and companies should be. They are also demanding more money from the federal government to finance the relief package. Now the heads of government of the federal states are discussing the further course with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. There had already been talks between the federal states beforehand.
restrained expectations
However, shortly before the meeting, the new chairman of the conference of prime ministers, Lower Saxony’s head of government, Stephan Weil, dampened expectations that concrete results could be achieved. He does not assume final consultations between the federal and state governments on financial issues, said Weil.
Instead, there could only be an “intermediate status”. Weil welcomed the 200 billion package as “a real big step forward”. However, the federal states have not yet received any concrete concepts, and the relief cannot yet be quantified. It is first necessary to specify the package.
In many respects, the talks with Chancellor Scholz would therefore not come to an end. “That’s why we mustn’t raise our expectations too high for the consultations that follow,” said Weil.
“Crisis needs clarity”
Both Weil and the deputy chairman of the MPK, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, praised the unity of the federal states. 16 countries with an opinion would go to the federal government, said Wüst. After preliminary consultations with the federal states, he referred to topics that were called up by the federal states.
For example, the demand that the federal government bear the full cost of the housing benefit reform and the financing of local public transport. The latter includes not only the successor to the 9-euro ticket, but also the solid financing of the previous traffic and the absorption of the increase in energy costs. It is also about hospital financing and spending on refugees.
“Crisis needs reliability, crisis needs clarity,” said Wüst. Only the federal government can provide this clarity, since the proposal for a defense shield of up to 200 billion euros came from the federal government. It is important to clarify as quickly as possible where the gas and electricity prices should be, said the NRW boss. However, he also assumes that a solution cannot be expected for all questions today.
“Working flat out on recommendation”
Scholz and Weil and Wüst want to inform the public about the results of the meeting in the evening. The commission of experts on the gas price brake set up by the federal government has meanwhile announced that it will present a “resilient proposal” next weekend. This was explained by the chairmen of the commission after the second meeting at the request of the dpa news agency.
The Commission is working “at full speed to present politicians with recommendations for a balanced and practicable gas price brake as soon as possible”. However, there are a number of questions to be considered. It is also important to organize financial relief without neglecting incentives to save on gas. There is “no pre-determination of any model, let alone specific consumption or price thresholds,” it said.
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