The heads of government of the countries continue their deliberations. On the second and final day of the conference, the prime ministers want to exchange views on the energy crisis with Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. In focus: the announced gas price brake.
1:24 p.m.:
1:22 p.m .: The question is whether there is enough money to bring forward the gas price brake two months from March to January. Weil says that it would hardly make a difference because the sums are already high.
1.20 p.m .: Questions from the journalists follow. Weil sharply criticizes the government’s approach to the gas price brake. The roller coaster ride of relief and burden among the citizens is not communicable, so the criticism.
1:18 p.m.: “We’re feeling our way”. There is not much clarity yet. There is a lot of reference to November 2nd.
1:17 p.m .: For the 49-euro ticket: “According to the basic law, the federal government is obliged to support the regional transport networks”.
1:16 p.m .: The burden due to the high number of refugees is high. “Anyone who comes to us must be properly looked after,” says Wüst. We have to support the municipalities in this.
1:15 p.m .: There should also be relief for wood pellets, so the demand. A quarter in NRW would use wood and oil. It should be relieved in a targeted manner in order to achieve social balance.
1:12 p.m .: Now Wüst continues. He also says that more clarity is needed. He also refers to the special PK on November 2nd. “The countries are ready to talk”. “The gas price brake must come sooner”. It is best to start in January and not just in March. A retroactive effect to January should be implemented and made clear to the citizens.
1:11 p.m .: Concrete decisions should follow on November 2nd when the Chancellor is there.
1:09 p.m .: Clarity must be created and citizens must not be overwhelmed, he demands. Electricity price brake will probably come on January 1st, says Weil. From then on, further help will follow. This is particularly necessary in the bakery sector and in the hospital sector.
1:06 p.m .: The government’s current approach to the gas price brake is difficult to communicate. “We can only advise against the federal government,” says Weil, meaning the relief for citizens only in December. Then in January and February would be charged what people don’t understand.
1:05 p.m .: Habeck and Lindern have given an interim report, says Weil. All 16 countries have economic and social concerns. He says that the people in Lower Saxony in particular have great financial worries because of the increased costs.
1:04 p.m .: Because and Wüst are here. Weil says that no final decisions were possible because Scholz was not there.
1:00 p.m .: No one is there yet, the ministers are a long time coming. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil and North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst are about to appear before the press.
12:58 p.m .: It starts in a few minutes.
Welcome to the live ticker from FOCUS online. After the two-day prime ministers’ conference in Hanover, the results are to be presented in a press conference starting at 1:00 p.m. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) will take part in the final Pk as host and North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU). FOCUS online will inform you about this live at this point.
The Bundestag has again approved an exception to the debt brake to finance the planned gas and electricity price brakes. In doing so, he enabled the federal government to take out additional loans of 200 billion euros on Friday. Such a decision is only possible in exceptional emergency situations.
The debt brake is enshrined in the Basic Law and stipulates that the federal budget should be able to manage without major loans. However, there is a small margin of 0.35 percent of economic output. In bad economic times, a little more debt can be incurred. But even this sum will probably not be enough for the energy price brakes planned by the federal government.
Several heads of government had said that they hoped for more clarity in the implementation. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is not there.
The federal government wants to support consumers and companies with a package of measures of up to 200 billion euros in view of the high energy prices resulting from the Ukraine war. Gas and electricity prices should be capped. There should be liquidity and equity support for companies. Details are still open. The next federal-state talks are planned for November 2nd. Then concrete steps could be decided.
During the consultations on Friday in Hanover, the financing of taking in refugees and a follow-up solution to the 9-euro ticket for local and regional transport that expired at the end of August should also be a topic.
