Berlin (Reuters) – The CDU/CSU parliamentary group wants to stop the gas levy planned from October 1st.
“It must be replaced by targeted support for those energy suppliers who are really threatened with insolvency,” says a draft of a statement available to the Reuters news agency, which the parliamentary group wants to adopt on Friday at its closed meeting. “We as the CDU/CSU parliamentary group will therefore apply in the German Bundestag for the gas price adjustment regulation to be repealed immediately and for the gas levy not to be levied.” In view of the traffic light majority in Parliament, it is unlikely that the Union will prevail.
That is why the CDU and CSU also want to ensure that beneficiary companies pay back the money if they are financially better again in the medium term. For the company Uniper, the Union is calling for a state protective shield as an alternative to compensation via the gas surcharge. The Union accuses the traffic light government of using the gas levy “to a large extent to finance free-rider effects for gas importers who are in no way threatened with collapse.”
The Union is also demanding the continued operation of the three nuclear power plants still on the grid beyond the end of 2022. This is “technically, legally and personally possible”. The federal government wants to clarify this with a so-called stress test. The recommissioning of the nuclear power plants that were shut down last year should also be checked and the result should be disclosed in a comprehensible manner. “The federal government must pave the way for ordering the necessary fuel rods,” says the draft.
The Union faction also wants the gas price to be deducted from the calculation of the electricity price in order to prevent prices from rising further. However, the Union believes that pricing should be based on the most expensive kilowatt hour generated (merit order). “We want to collect a gas price cap that keeps the basic gas supply affordable,” it said. The SPD also demands this, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has promised an examination.
With regard to the relief, the Union proposes that incomes below 30,000/60,000 euros (single/married) receive a so-called energy relief amount for income tax of 3000 euros and a surcharge of 1000 euros for each child for the years 2022 and 2023 per get credited for household. For income within this group that cannot benefit from this tax relief amount, there should be direct payments. In addition, the Union, like the FDP, wants a reduction in the so-called cold progression, in which employees only slide into a higher income bracket for reasons of inflation.
In order to reduce energy consumption, the parliamentary group also proposes a scrapping bonus for washing machines, dryers and refrigerators of 100 euros for new appliances if 30 percent energy savings can be achieved by replacing them. When it comes to expanding renewable energy, the Union complains about a “one-sided focus on wind energy”. The Union also wants a “legally binding set of rules” from the EU so that new vehicles with CO2-neutral fuel can also be registered from 2035.
(Report by Andreas Rinke, edited by Scot W. Stevenson. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected])