It's been over a year since the coal commission in Berlin broke up with a compromise that looked like this: By 2038, coal-fired power generation is scheduled to end. For the affected regions in the four federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt there is money for this to master this structural change, so the plan. It should be 40 billion euros by 2038.
Now, just before the state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg, the federal cabinet has passed a bill that actually spells out exactly this: The measures mentioned "have a volume of up to 40 billion euros," it says.
- 14 billion should be given to countries and municipalities for special investments,
- another 26 billion euros are available for state-owned projects in the region.
With this gigantic sum, the infrastructure should be improved, new research projects pushed and federal authorities brought to the regions. (Read here what should happen to the money.)
By the beginning of this week, the prime ministers had fought for the bill to be passed in the Cabinet as soon as possible before the elections, and indeed for a 1: 1 implementation of the coal compromise.
These are the hurdles that the law still has to take:
- The law goes first in the Bundestag , there is still criticism and desire for expansion. Thus, the bill does not provide any relief for the co-financing of municipalities, which have to raise a share of their own. This is a big obstacle for cities with poor budgets to get some of the money.
- With regard to the 26 billion euros, there are still no specific projects , which are mentioned in the law. There is also no clear statement as to which federal authorities should be located in the coal regions .
- Incentives for private investment are not extensively planned. This will probably be negotiated, which special depreciation options could exist for companies.
- The law for structural funding is linked to another . Only when the Kohlesusstieg is such a decided thing, also the structure promotion law comes into force. But for the coal exit there is not even a draft.
- But the biggest hurdle is the Federal Council , where many countries would have to agree to the law, which would not see a cent of the money.
For the parliamentary elections in Saxony and Brandenburg, the Cabinet decision nevertheless a success: Dietmar Woidke, the SPD Prime Minister in Brandenburg, and Michael Kretschmer, CDU head of government in Saxony, have managed to bring the Federal Government on their side. However, nothing is decided yet.
