STORY: The financing of billions in savings in energy costs for consumers and companies remains controversial between the federal and state governments. A meeting of several hours between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Prime Ministers of the federal states in the Chancellery did not result in an agreement on Tuesday evening. With the planned so-called defense shield of up to 200 billion euros and the three relief packages, the volume is 295 billion euros, said Scholz. The federal government will take on and finance almost 240 to 250 billion of this. “There are still discussions about how this can be shouldered in detail, which have not been concluded between the federal and state governments. But I have the impression that we are on a very constructive path and that we are also communicating with the others about this task will.” North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, on the other hand, was disappointed. “Despite the constructive attitude of the federal states, the federal government has shown little willingness to compromise on very important issues today. I can understand why many people are disappointed because they expected something different. We have only made a few steps forward today and are still a long way from it on target. That is now an honest statement, and from the point of view of many countries, the result is simply not enough.” Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil, as chairman of the Prime Ministers’ Conference, said the necessary decisions would be made by the end of October or early November at the latest. The results of the tax estimate for the current year and the years to come will be available on October 27th.