The FDP politician wants to abolish the so-called EEG surcharge as quickly as possible.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Federal Minister of Finance 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 felt 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 delete 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.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics said in Berlin that the government ministries involved were in close contact. The aim is to abolish the EEG surcharge as early as possible. “The talks are ongoing.” The surcharge will then no longer be a price component for consumers in the future.
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Medium-sized companies demanded further relief for companies. Markus Jerger, federal executive director of the Mittelstandsverband BVMW, told Funke Mediengruppe newspapers that the electricity tax in Germany is more than 20 times higher than what is required by the European Union.
This is a disadvantage for the competitiveness of German producers and also reduces economic growth, criticized Jeger. “It is therefore necessary to reduce energy costs to the European level beyond the EEG surcharge.”
New January data on inflation in Germany are expected on Monday. Nationwide, economists expect an increase of 4.3 percent compared to the previous year. Lindner said action must now be taken, but he questions whether inflation is permanent.
More: Record electricity prices: The abolition of the EEG surcharge is not enough