"Unreasonable": Summit paper shows hard fronts - is there a risk of a week-long relief stalemate?
Created: 10/05/2022 11:22 am
By: Andreas Schmid
Olaf Scholz at the federal-state summit with SPD leader Stephan Weil (SPD, left) and NRW's Hendrik Wüst (CDU).
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
The SPD sees "huge progress" after the energy summit, in fact the federal-state meeting does not bring any concrete relief - and also leaves many questions unanswered in the decision.
Berlin - Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) promised at the end of September a "double boom" to help the population and the economy with the high energy prices.
A "defense shield" of 200 billion euros should fix it.
But there is still a problem with the concrete political design.
The country is waiting for the proposals for the umbrella.
And the federal-state meeting on Tuesday will not bring any concrete resolutions on the older relief package either.
Relief: price brakes, housing benefit, 9-euro ticket - dispute with the federal and state governments
The federal and state governments are certain that
people should be relieved.
"Citizens and companies should be relieved of the increased energy costs in a targeted manner," says the resolution.
How
, however, remains unclear in many cases.
There are already some suggestions.
In the case of the gas price brake, the assessment of the “Gas and Heat Expert Commission” is still missing.
It should come just as "promptly" as a draft law to introduce an electricity price brake.
Elsewhere, the federal and state governments are arguing about financing: for example, refugee costs or housing benefit, which is to be increased by 190 euros a month and paid out to more than 1.4 million households.
So far, the federal and state governments have shared the costs.
But: “The heads of government of the federal states consider it necessary for the federal government to assume the full cost of housing benefit in the future.”
There is the same dispute with the successor model of the 9-euro ticket.
In principle, it should come, but here too: disagreement, or as the resolution says: "There are different ideas at the federal and state levels about the specific path and the respective financial responsibility." The transport ministers should "come to a conclusion promptly".
discharge | Federal-state plan | problem |
|---|---|---|
gas price brake | agreement in principle | Unclear design |
Electricity price brake | agreement in principle | Unclear design |
housing benefit | More money for more households | financing |
9 euro ticket | Successor | financing |
Coverage of refugee costs | End conversations "promptly". | financing |
The only clear point: the federal government will take over 240 to 250 billion euros of the 295 billion package (three relief packages and gas price brake) itself.
No results at relief summit: Merz sees "evening of missed opportunities"
Scholz understood the talks on Tuesday evening as "constructive".
There are "still discussions about how this can be shouldered in detail, which have not yet been concluded between the federal and state governments," said the Chancellor.
However, he has “the impression that we are on a very constructive path”.
An impression that the Union does not share at all.
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North Rhine-Westphalia's CDU Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst recognized "hardly any willingness to compromise" at the federal level.
Hesse-Bouffier's successor Boris Rhein (CDU) criticized the results as "disappointment".
Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz saw "an evening of missed opportunities that leaves the citizens unsettled".
Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer was particularly disappointed.
The CDU politician accused Scholz of playing for time.
In a protocol statement of the decision paper, Saxony called for "clarity", "quick decisions" and "easily implementable solutions that take effect quickly".
In view of the current situation on the energy and raw materials markets with significantly increased prices, the Free State of Saxony does not consider it reasonable to wait any longer with concrete relief measures.
Saxony's statement on the minutes of the federal-state meeting on October 4th
Prime Ministers from the ranks of the SPD, on the other hand, emphasized progress and unity.
Lower Saxony's social-democratic head of government, Stephan Weil, who is facing a state election on Sunday, spoke of "sensible" consultations, party friend Malu Dreyer from Rhineland-Palatinate of "huge progress".
Federal-state round: Next relief summit on October 27th
Much remains vague during the deliberations.
The only thing that seems clear is that the struggle for relief between the federal and state governments is likely to last for weeks.
The victims are the people in the country affected by the energy crisis.
According to their decision paper, Scholz and the federal states want to meet again "as soon as the details of the effect of the energy price brakes" on electricity and gas "are foreseeable and the tax estimate is available".
The tax estimate is scheduled to be announced on October 27.
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