Germany will have to bear the price increases “in one form or another”, says the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs. However, the burden of high gas prices should be distributed “fairly”.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) rejects a state price cap in view of the expected further increase in gas prices. The high price increases are an “external shock” and cannot be fully absorbed by the state, Habeck said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Munich Crafts Fair.
“The country will have to bear that in one form or another.” Economically, too, a price cap would be the wrong signal, according to the Economics Minister: “Capping prices would send a signal for a scarce commodity: Energy is not valuable, get what you want,” said Habeck.
“There are still enormous price increases to come,” said the Green politician with a view to the coming winter. According to Habeck, the federal government wants to ensure that the burden of high gas prices is distributed “fairly”, but did not go into detail. Yasmin Fahimi, head of the DGB, spoke out in favor of capping gas prices.
In the first half of the year, gas consumption in Germany fell by 14 percent, said Habeck. Even if you subtract a little from this number because of the warm winter, consumption was almost ten percent lower. There is no market problem with the gas supply, since the high prices “sucked in” a lot of gas to Europe, said Habeck. “It’s a physical problem, the gas just has to get there. (…) Unlike Italy, we don’t have an LNG terminal.”
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
