Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced proposals to curb the sharp rise in gas prices in the near future.
It is now about “how we can reduce the far too high prices, both those for electricity and those for gas,” said the SPD politician on Sunday on the sidelines of a visit to Qatar in the capital Doha. A commission started consultations on Saturday and is doing “very good, constructive” work. “We will also be able to count on quick results there.”
All factors must be considered together in order to achieve this, “so that citizens and companies are not faced with tasks that they cannot solve,” said Scholz. With regard to the efforts to ensure a broader supply of gas, he again emphasized that at the beginning of autumn one could say: “We’ll probably get through this winter.”
The debate about capping gas prices continued to gain momentum over the weekend. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) expressed doubts about the planned gas levy and called for a gas price brake. At the same time, however, funding for this is being discussed. The traffic light coalition had already agreed on an electricity price brake. According to this, private households should receive the amount of electricity for basic consumption at a reduced price – as should small and medium-sized companies.
