High gas prices: Habeck promises relief - "Will counteract"
Created: 02/23/2022, 09:41 am
Economics Minister Habeck promises relief for consumers.
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
The escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict is affecting gas prices in Germany.
Economics Minister Habeck promises relief for consumers.
Berlin – Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has promised compensation for short-term gas price increases as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"As far as the short-term price increases and the burden on consumers and companies are concerned, we will create relief elsewhere," said the Green politician on Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday morning.
"We can hardly intervene in the world market price, for gas or for oil.
However, we will abolish the EEG surcharge.
We will counter social policy."
Habeck: Safe gas supply
The most important thing is that Germany has enough gas, said Habeck.
A lot of preparations have been made for this.
The gas supply is therefore secure.
The energy issue has become a security issue.
When asked whether Germany could completely do without Russian gas, Habeck said: "Yes, it can." There is a possibility that Germany will get enough gas and enough raw materials without deliveries from Russia.
Habeck restricted, however, that the costs for this are significantly higher prices.
Habeck on Nord Stream 2: "Clumping risk through the Baltic Sea"
On Tuesday evening, Habeck announced in the ARD Tagesthemen that it would have been wiser not to build the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.
Europe needs a diverse energy landscape and not "a lump of risk from the Baltic Sea".
For too long, people have been under the illusion that "the pipeline can only be viewed from an economic and political point of view".
However, energy policy is always “to be assessed in terms of security policy and geopolitics,” said Habeck.
Even if the Nord Stream 2 process has been stopped for the time being, the final end could still happen, said the Minister for Economic Affairs.
At the moment it is "centrally important that Europe and the USA proceed as one" and "neither enter into a race to outbid or undercut sanctions".
Against the background of the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, the federal government stopped the approval process for the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline on Tuesday until further notice*.
(dpa)
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