The German Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) today emphasized good relations with Austria at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. He also referred to a “double crisis” in Europe, namely a looming recession and high inflation.
Both the energy transition and the Russian offensive war against Ukraine would only help if there was a common European solidarity, Habeck stressed. A “carnage” threatens in the coming spring offensive. The war can only be ended “if injustice does not prevail”.
“What Putin is doing is imperialism”
“This is imperialism, what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is doing,” Habeck said. The best course of action in the conflict is military aid to Ukraine, Habeck explained when asked if Austria was providing enough aid.
Today’s meeting with Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Kocher, as well as her counterpart Sabine Monauni (Liechtenstein) and Swiss colleague Guy Parmelin in Vienna, next to Ukraine, focuses on the energy transition and high energy prices. According to Habeck, it is important that projects for the energy transition are implemented quickly, that progress is made in the trade agreements and that the opening of the electricity market is initiated.
He spoke of a “double crisis” in Europe, namely a looming recession and high inflation. Germany had “just scraped past the top of a recession. “We have to break inflation and fend off the recession and for that we have to invest massively,” the German minister told journalists.
Habeck for more “green industry”
The EU’s Green Deal is good and important, but it also needs improvement, Habeck said. More infrastructure expansion, tax benefits for green industry and an industrial electricity price for Europe are needed. And there would also be a lack of circular economy.
When asked, Habeck avoided the fact that Austria provided more economic support than Germany during the corona pandemic – as the government in Vienna likes to emphasize. It’s not a national competition. “Our economic areas are an internal market,” said the German vice chancellor. And he recalled that economic aid is usually financed with credit. Kocher pointed to Austria’s special position due to its strong tourism sector, which helped Austria’s economy slightly more than Germany.
Strengthen the economy together with the US
Another topic of the meeting of the German-speaking economics ministers in Schönbrunn is the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). US industrial policy will be strengthened by large amounts in the billions over the next five years. Since only US companies benefit from the IRA, it is important from a European and EU perspective to develop measures to prevent discrimination against European companies. On the Austrian side, we are calling for a quick response from European industrial policy to the inflation reduction law,” Kocher stressed today.
Habeck, on the other hand, said, “Given the debate over the US Inflation Reduction Act, we can and must build a green bridge across the Atlantic and build common green lead markets. More renewable energy, more energy efficiency, a climate-friendly industry – that’s what we’re working towards in Europe.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
