The controversial gas surcharge not only has friends in the traffic light coalition. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner sees a need for a gas price brake. And the chancellor also has suggestions.
In the discussion about the gas surcharge, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner is now also expressing doubts about the controversial instrument. “It’s less a question of law when it comes to the gas levy, but more and more of a question of economic meaning,” Lindner told the “Bild am Sonntag”. “We have a gas surcharge that increases the price. But we need a gas price brake that lowers the price,” added the FDP leader. It will still be some time before the federal government provides help for households, crafts, sports clubs or culture. “A gas price brake must help everyone in an economy quickly,” emphasized the finance minister.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz held out the prospect of proposals soon to curb the sharp rise in gas prices. It is now a question of “how we can reduce the far too high prices, both for electricity and for gas,” said the SPD politician on Sunday during a visit to Qatar in the capital Doha. A commission started consultations on Saturday and is doing “very good, constructive” work. “We will also be able to count on quick results.”
All factors must be considered together in order to achieve this, “so that citizens and companies are not faced with tasks that they cannot solve,” said Scholz. With a view to the efforts to ensure a broader supply of gas, he again emphasized that at the beginning of autumn one could say: “We’ll probably get through this winter.”
Greens boss Ricarda Lang appealed to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) to clarify the financing of an alternative in the event of the gas surcharge. “The gas surcharge can go away as soon as the Ministry of Finance is willing to come up with an alternative. This alternative means: financing from budget funds,” said Lang on Sunday in Berlin. Lindner knows that this costs money. “The Minister of Finance must now deliver and provide the necessary funds, firstly to stabilize the gas suppliers and secondly to lower energy prices so that our country can get through this winter in the best possible way,” warned Lang. She said that capping gas prices for basic needs was the right way to go.
The gas surcharge is intended to support gas importers who get into trouble because of the high purchase prices for Russian gas. The surcharge for all gas users is currently set at around 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour.
Lindner: “The debt brake for the federal budget is in place”
Despite the foreseeable additional expenditure, Lindner does not want to shake the debt brake: “A gas price brake must be combined with long-term stable state finances. The debt brake for the federal budget is in place.”
The debt brake enshrined in the Basic Law stipulates that the federal and state governments must always balance their budgets without loans. Above all, Lindner and his FDP insist on strict compliance with the rule, which was suspended for three years in the federal government due to Corona, from 2023.
The Ministry of Economics, led by Robert Habeck (Greens), had identified constitutional financial issues with the gas levy. According to “Bild am Sonntag”, Habeck sent the draft law to the cabinet members last Wednesday, but in the cover letter it was “subject to the financial constitutional review” by the Ministry of Finance. Reference was also made to the possible alternatives – direct state aid to the gas suppliers in need or taking over the additional costs of the gas importers from budget funds.
Most recently, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil also said that the gas levy should be reviewed.
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.
