The Scholz government demands a reform of the European electricity market
The German government coalition has agreed on a third package of aid and subsidies totaling EUR 65,000 million to relieve citizens of high energy prices and high inflation. The Tripartite of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberals (FDP) reached an agreement this morning on a wide range of measures that was very advanced, after hours of closed-door negotiations in the Federal Chancellery that began at noon on Saturday.
The package of measures “discharges all households, including pensioners, students and apprentices”, is stated in the agreed document, which includes a single financial aid of €200 per student and €300 for each pensioner. The catalogs list increases in aid for those without income, housing and heating subsidies and child premiums, as well as setting a cheaper price for a basic supply of electricity for households. This is financed through additional tariffs on the disproportionate profits of the energy companies.
“It’s about guiding our country safely through the crisis,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a press conference with the presidents of the three parties of the governing coalition, Social Democrat Saskia Esken, Green Omnid Nouripour and Liberal Christian Lindner. , also Federal Minister of Finance. “We take all concerns” from citizens very, very seriously in light of the sharp rise in the cost of living, said Scholz, once again repeating the motto in English “You’ll never walk alone” and assuring that “we will let nobody alone.”
The head of the Berlin government stressed that this third package of measures to deal with the energy crisis and the consequences of high inflation is larger than the previous two combined. The sum of the three reaches a volume of 95,000 million euros. “It is a lot that we move, but it is necessary,” said Scholz.
The Chancellor noted that he plans to push within the European Union for a reform of the market in this sector, in order to free citizens from high energy prices. He proposed to exhaust the so-called fortuitous profits of extraordinarily lucrative energy companies, even exclusively at the national level if no agreement is reached in Brussels.
“In the event that the measures currently being discussed in Europe are not agreed and will be implemented shortly, the federal government will only do so to unload the consumers,” emphasizes the document signed by the tripartite German government. Because the tariffs for those benefits are deemed excessive, Berlin wants to fund what it calls a “brake on the electricity price.” In this way, “private households have a certain amount of power at a lower price for basic consumption,” says the text of the agreement.
The executive parties led by Social Democrat Scholz have also agreed on a model to succeed the single monthly ticket of nine euros for all local public transport in the country, which will run for three months in Germany until the end of August and of which they sold more than 52 million units.
While not setting a price for the new single ticket, the pact “establishes the federal government’s determination to contribute €1,500 million for a single commuter ticket nationally if the states contribute at least the same amount.” The aim is to create an “attractive price tag” that will allow you to use all local public transport in Germany with a monthly payment between 49 and 69 euros.
The transport ministers of the Berlin government and the 16 federal states have already started negotiations to implement the initiative, following the overwhelming success of the summer experiment.
Source: La Verdad
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