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Hendrik Wüst (in January 2022)
Photo: Revierfoto / imago images/Revierfoto
North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst is threatening the federal government with a mediation procedure for the relief package if there are no changes.
"This is where the countries get down to business," said the CDU politician, who is currently heading the Prime Ministers' Conference, on Wednesday at an event hosted by the news portal "The Pioneer" in Düsseldorf.
There is no answer on the subject of medium-sized companies, the economy and energy prices.
"If necessary, we'll go to the mediation committee."
This body of the Bundestag and Bundesrat should find a consensus if laws passed by the Bundestag do not find a majority in the state chamber.
The relief package decided by the coalition committee of the traffic light parties is intended to help low earners in particular to cope with the high energy prices.
Wüst criticized that it was not okay that more than 30 billion euros were tax-financed from this package and that it was automatically assumed that the countries would participate.
“The federal government hasn’t spoken to any of us.” He had noticed the desire of many to convene a prime minister’s conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
An appointment with the federal government is currently being coordinated for this.
The federal government decided on a third relief package over the weekend, comprising 65 billion euros.
Among other things, the traffic light coalition has passed an energy allowance of 300 euros for pensioners and one-off aid for students of 200 euros.
Child benefit will also increase by 18 euros from January 1st.
Recipients of housing benefit receive a heating allowance of 415 euros for a one-person household for September to December.
The energy crisis is directly related to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
Economists doubt effectiveness against recession
But economists are convinced that even that will hardly be enough and that Germany will no longer be able to escape a downturn.
"The third relief package does little to change the fact that Germany is likely to slide into a recession in the fall," said Commerzbank chief economist Jörg Krämer.
"The package will probably not be enough to prevent the economy as a whole from falling into recession," said ING chief economist Carsten Brzeski.
The measures decided on Sunday accounted for less than two percent of German gross domestic product and fell short of the fiscal stimulus due to the corona pandemic, which amounted to around 15 percent of GDP.
Soaring energy prices as a result of the Russian war are eroding consumers' purchasing power and driving up costs for businesses.
From April to June, gross domestic product only grew by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter.
A recession occurs when economic output shrinks for at least two quarters in a row.
jok/dpa