BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has promised citizens relief from the high energy prices as quickly as possible, but left open the possibility of bringing the gas price brake forward from March to January. “We don’t know at the moment whether this is technically possible,” said the FDP chairman on Sunday on the ARD program “Report from Berlin”. So the gas suppliers should be able to make bills. At the same time, he emphasized: “The federal government is working under high pressure. And I can give you the political statement: I want it to reach people, in companies, as quickly as possible.”
He thinks the relief amount of 200 billion euros for two years is sufficient, said Lindner when asked whether the money was enough. But you also see the financial limits of the state. Every billion must be repaid with interest. The sum therefore “does not relieve us from doing everything we can, for example to bring down the level of energy prices through additional infrastructure through rapid planning and approval processes” or from buying gas jointly at European level in order to reduce prices there as well.
He does not expect a word of power from Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the suspension of the debt brake in the federal government as with the question of the term of the three remaining nuclear power plants, said Lindner, who repeatedly insists on the existence of the debt brake. “No, that’s not necessary,” said Lindner. He wants to send the signal to the capital markets: “Germany will remain stable in the long term. We handle public money wisely so that interest rates don’t continue to rise or worse is threatened.”
Lindner expressed reservations about the demand for a reduction in VAT for those who heat with oil or wood pellets. He has not had good experiences with the reduction of a tax rate for the tank discount. “That’s why I’d like to wait for the public debate.” The government has launched a large number of different relief measures. The Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) had previously repeated his corresponding request on the show.
At the same time, Lindner defended the planned citizens’ allowance against criticism. He pointed out that those who tried to qualify would be rewarded. People could also earn more than before in addition to the citizen’s income. Obligations to cooperate remained. This is an “extremely good reform”. The traffic light coalition wants to use the citizen money to replace the Hartz IV system in its current form for the more than five million people affected on January 1./bk/shy/DP/he