The most important events and reports on the economy, central banks and politics from the Dow Jones Newswires program.
Alliance of business associations and trade unions demands industrial electricity price
An alliance of business associations and trade unions in energy-intensive industries and the DGB is emphatically demanding a temporary subsidized industrial electricity price, a bridging electricity price. In view of the high electricity prices in Germany, it was “five minutes to twelve” for the energy-intensive industries, Allianz said on Friday. Relocations, site closures and the loss of jobs have long been threatened. The alliance claims to represent more than 1.1 million employees in more than 8,000 companies.
Scholz considers basic child security to be almost complete
After the completion of the draft law by Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) on basic child security, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) emphasized that the corresponding plan had been worked out as far as possible. As Scholz said at a press conference after visiting his Austrian counterpart Karl Nehammer, “we’re done at 99 percent. Maybe it’s only 98 percent, depending on what you count.” The government will do the rest. Meanwhile, Paus was assuming that a cabinet decision would be made soon. She is “optimistic that we will soon be able to pass the draft law in the cabinet as soon as we advance the political debate together,” said Paus.
Gas storage in the EU 90 percent full
Two and a half months before the target date, the gas storage facilities in the European Union are 90 percent full. The EU is going “well prepared” for the coming winter, the commission said. After the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the 27 member countries decided in the summer of 2022 that the gas storage facilities in the EU should be 90 percent full by November 1st. According to data from the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) portal, the filling level on Wednesday was exactly 90.12 percent on average.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 18, 2023 1:00 PM ET (5:00 PM GMT)