Berlin (Reuters) – Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner wants to abolish the so-called EEG surcharge as quickly as possible in response to the increased electricity costs.
“Now concrete action must be taken,” said the FDP chairman on Monday on ARD. People feel the inflation that goes back to expensive energy. The EEG surcharge is the electricity price surcharge for the expansion of renewable energies. The new traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP wants to abolish this by 2023 at the latest. Recently, however, there have been increasing calls to do it as early as 2022. “If it’s up to me, in just a few weeks,” said Lindner now. But this is not enough. “Further measures must follow.” As an example, he cited tax relief, such as income tax.
New January data on inflation in Germany are expected on Monday. Economists expect an increase of 4.3 percent compared to the previous year. Lindner said action must be taken now, but he questions whether inflation is permanent.