Germany to end energy price subsidies by the end of this year
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said that the work of Germany’s Economic Stabilization Fund, which helps consumers cope with rising energy costs, is scheduled to end at the end of next December.
He added in statements to German public radio on Friday, “This means that there will be no more payments from the fund next year… The effective period of curbing electricity and gas prices will end… This must also end on December 31”.
The government is scrambling to obtain funds after it was surprised by the Constitutional Court ruling last week that turned the coalition’s budget plans upside down.
The court’s decision left the federal budget with a deficit of 60 billion Euros ($66 billion).
The court ruled that Germany’s strict debt rules do not allow the government to redirect money originally borrowed during the coronavirus pandemic, when debt limits were suspended on an emergency basis, to fight climate change instead.
By the end of last October, the fund provided 31.2 billion Euros, including 11.1 billion Euros to limit the rise in gas prices and 11.6 billion Euros to limit the rise in electricity prices, in addition to 4.8 billion Euros for emergency aid for natural gas and 3.7 billion Euros in the form of support for energy network fees.
In response to a question about whether the state will intervene to cover high gas prices next year, Lindner said, “This is not expected to happen… Such questions must be answered when they arise on the ground”.
He added, “It shouldn’t be assumed that we will witness an emergency situation with electricity, gas, and economic sustainability at the beginning of next year… As a result, it can be assumed that there is no justification for any emergency… If the opposite happens, decisions will have to be made then”.
