Because a planned LNG ship off Hamburg is not going to be placed there after all, the funds planned for it can now partially cover the new costs.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The Federal Ministry of Economics has requested an additional 1.6 billion euros in budget funds needed to expand the liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. This emerges from a submission from the Ministry of Finance to the Budget Committee, which is available to the Handelsblatt. In it, the Ministry of Finance announces that it intends to release the additional funds.
The money is therefore earmarked for the costs of building LNG terminals at German ports. Accordingly, no funds have been budgeted for some costs in the previous plans. These include social security contributions and taxes on the charter contracts that are needed for LNG ships; CO2 certificates for self-consumption of gas and costs for repairs. These expenses are incurred for all five LNG terminals planned to date. In addition, there are further cost increases for individual locations.
The opposition sharply criticized the motion. “The demand for new billions reveals the chaos plans of the Federal Ministry of Economics,” said Christian Haase (CDU), budget spokesman for the Union faction.
“Despite expensive external consultants, the new template contains a long list of technical errors from Minister Robert Habeck’s house, which are now to be ironed out with taxpayers’ money,” says Haase. The Ministry of Economics could not immediately be reached for comment.
However, the additional funds do not have to be obtained from scratch. The federal government wants to operate floating LNG ships at five locations, which will be used to deliver liquid gas. The government had originally planned to place another LNG ship in Hamburg, but rejected this plan again. According to the template, around 900 million euros of the money reserved for Hamburg can now be used for the additional costs incurred.
Criticism of possible overcapacity
Ever since the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Germany has tried to gain independence from pipeline gas from Russia. In autumn 2022, Russia then completely stopped deliveries to Germany. The federal government wants to close the gap that has arisen in the gas supply, primarily through LNG terminals in the northern German ports.
For months, however, a debate has flared up as to whether those responsible are overshooting the mark. Criticism comes mainly from the Greens. They fear that Germany will later get rid of climate-damaging natural gas through the new terminals and that this will also be financed with more and more tax money.
Even in the Federal Ministry of Economics, not everyone is convinced of the approach. The environment of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) should push to prioritize security of supply.
More: Is the federal government overdoing it with LNG capacities?