The federal government intends to respond to the significant increase in energy prices with a new relief package in the near future. The work on this would be completed “soon”, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting at Meseberg Castle.
The aim is “a very precise, very tailor-made relief package”. It must be about “that prices don’t shoot through the roof” and that citizens and companies “can get through this difficult time well”.
“We need a massive package for relief across society,” said Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) at the joint press conference. He still saw a possible scope for this year “in a single-digit billion euro range”.
In the coming year, Lindner “with the participation of the federal states” assumed a “double-digit billion amount” for relief. The previous two relief packages had a total volume of around 30 billion euros.
At the same time, however, “the roots of the problems” must also be addressed, warned Lindner. This is particularly about the pricing on the electricity market. Here there is “a kind of politically made yield autopilot”, which means that rising gas prices lead to extra profits in electricity prices overall. The federal government has therefore agreed to work on reducing uncertainty and speculation on the market.
