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Open-cast lignite mining in Profen, Saxony-Anhalt
Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa-Zentralbild
The energy transition is coming.
And with it the uncertainty in the old coal mining areas such as the Central German Revier.
In the smallest of the three remaining lignite districts in Germany, two new locations for the Federal Office for Economics and Export Control (Bafa) are to be built as part of the structural change - in Borna in Saxony and in Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt.
The Federal Ministry of Economics announced that tasks in accordance with the new supply chain law will be performed there in the future.
This obliges companies to comply with social standards in global supply chains from January 1, 2023.
In the course of the coal phase-out, the federal government promised to create 5,000 new jobs in the structurally weak regions by 2029.
These now included the two new locations of the Federal Office.
The climate-damaging coal-fired power generation in Germany is to be ended by 2038 at the latest.
The possible new government made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP is striving for a faster exit - "ideally" by 2030, as the exploratory paper says.
Commitment to the Central German district
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) described the two new locations of the Federal Office as a strong commitment to the Central German district and to the local people.
Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) welcomed the fact that, after the successful establishment of a new branch of the Federal Office for Economics and Export Control (BAFA) in Weißwasser (Upper Lusatia), a second location will be opened in Saxony.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) said that the acceptance of the energy transition and the success of the structural change depend crucially on how new and promising jobs can be created in the region.
Around 2300 people are still working in coal mining in the Central German district.
How many new jobs will be created at the two new locations is still unclear.
BAFA has various tasks.
Among other things, various funding programs run through the authority, for example the purchase bonus for electric cars.
The headquarters of the office is in Eschborn, Hesse.
atb / dpa / AFP