In view of the energy crisis, inflation and the Ukraine war, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns of a growing influx of right-wing forces. His authority is observing “that a radicalized minority of right-wing extremists, delegitimizers, Reich citizens and conspiracy believers are positioning themselves,” says the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang. They wanted to occupy the issues and abuse them for mobilization. Russia is also gaining influence.
The smallest party “Freie Sachsen” is increasingly focusing on social issues, while the AfD is increasingly concerned with inflation. The aim is often “to exploit displeasure and growing problems in the everyday life of the population in order to undermine trust in the state, government and democracy in the long term,” writes the Cologne Federal Office. To make matters worse, Russia uses instruments such as cyber attacks and disinformation to divide society in Germany. Moscow is trying to fuel fears with the targeted dissemination of false information about gas shortages and price increases. “Russian propaganda is likely to increase in the extremist milieu,” warns the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit referred on Wednesday to the planned aid for citizens. Major social unrest is not to be feared, “because the burdens are accompanied by relief.” The more successful it is in countering social upheavals, the less successful Russian attempts at destabilization are. The federal government is currently working on a third relief package, but it also has to deal with an acute problem: According to EU law, it must also levy VAT on the surcharge for the rescue of ailing gas importers, much to the annoyance of millions of gas customers.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had tried to circumvent this with an exemption from Brussels. But in a letter to Lindner on Wednesday, EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni explains why this cannot be granted. At the same time, the Italian offers alternatives.
Berlin can return the income, it is said
The two-page letter available to the SZ states that the EU VAT Directive, the revised version of which only came into force in April, requires that the same VAT rate must apply to such taxes and surcharges as to the actual product, i.e. the gas . Using an intended exception clause does not work.
However, Gentiloni proposes other solutions to avoid an additional burden on citizens. The federal government could simply lower the VAT rate for gas a little – so much so that the gas levy no longer brings any additional VAT revenue. Or the government uses the additional income from the levy to relieve households elsewhere. Gentiloni suggests that Berlin could design this support in such a way that it primarily benefits the poorest citizens.