NAccording to the Union, the gas surcharge can no longer be maintained in view of the planned nationalization of the ailing gas importer Uniper. “The gas surcharge has to go. The traffic light must now go back on and the entire building of support and support in the energy crisis must be rebuilt,” said the spokesman for the Union faction in the Bundestag, Andreas Jung, of the “Rheinische Post”. For this there must be a short-term limitation of energy prices and targeted relief for average earners and trade, medium-sized businesses and industry. The state should not also make money from the cost explosion.
A new stabilization package provides for the federal government to buy the Uniper shares currently held by the Finnish energy company Fortum, as Germany’s largest gas importer announced on Tuesday. “As a result, it is intended that the federal government will thus receive a significant majority stake in Uniper,” it said. Accordingly, a capital increase of eight billion euros is also planned, which is to be subscribed exclusively by the federal government.
The deputy chairman of the Union parliamentary group, Jens Spahn, welcomed the forthcoming nationalization – but it needed clarity about the costs and the role of the Finnish major shareholder. Spahn said on the Welt television channel: “We would like to see how much billions have been spent on Uniper in the meantime. And one thing is also quite clear: the gas levy is no longer needed if it is a state-owned company, then the state should also secure the gas supplies there with guarantees, for example, but not burden the citizens additionally. The gas surcharge should be abolished. That is now clear at the latest.”
“Financial constitutional doubts” about the gas levy
In view of the possible nationalization of Uniper, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), according to information from the German Press Agency, had previously expressed “constitutional financial doubts” with regard to the gas levy. Habeck is also said to have indicated that the financing requirements for the gas suppliers are significantly higher than when the first rescue package for Uniper was negotiated. It is becoming increasingly clear that the unstable situation needs “the power and the guarantee of the state as well as all the financial strength of the state” that is necessary, it said. However, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the final examination and responsibility for the financial constitutional law. The ARD capital office had previously reported on Habeck’s concerns.
The Federal Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday evening when asked by dpa: “There are no legal concerns. Economics Minister Habeck can introduce the gas levy he has proposed as planned.”
The economic policy spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group, Dieter Janecek, told the “Rheinische Post”: “Should the federal government be forced in the short term to strive for a majority stake in Uniper with billions more, the majority of the gas buyers’ market will be in state hands as a result.” On the one hand, this creates additional stability in times of crisis. “At the same time, the Federal Ministry of Finance must now finally and quickly clarify whether a gas surcharge under these circumstances remains unobjectionable in terms of the financial constitution. Alternatively, direct support from budget funds is still a viable option, which we as Greens have never ruled out.”
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr called for quick clarification from the Minister of Economics. “Federal Minister of Economics Habeck brought the gas levy into play and I assume that he will soon clarify what consumers have to prepare for. Doing nothing is never an option,” he told the Rheinische Post.
The Federal Association of Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW) is pushing for an end to the levy. It was “knitted with a hot needle and riddled with technical errors” right from the start, said the BVMW national chairman Markus Jerger to the newspapers of the Funke media group. Many companies have only a lack of understanding for the statements on the gas levy from the Federal Ministry of Economics. The head of the association called on the federal government to do more to reduce the price of energy.
The gas surcharge is intended to support importers who get into difficulties because of the high purchase prices. The surcharge for all gas users is currently set at around 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour. According to the current status, the first advance payments should go to companies in November at the earliest. The levy is to be introduced on October 1st. Habeck tries to limit the circle of eligible companies so that only companies in need benefit.
Uniper is in trouble because Russia is no longer pumping gas to Germany. The gas wholesaler is a supplier to over 100 municipal utilities and large companies and thus plays a central role in Germany’s gas supply. The company now has to buy the missing gas expensively on the gas market.
