Greifswald/Rostock (dpa/mv) - The universities of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have reacted gratefully, but also wait and see, to the announced relief in the energy crisis. "I am very grateful to Bettina Martin for vehemently campaigning for the universities to be relieved by the state-financed hardship fund in order to cushion the exorbitantly increased energy prices," said the Rector of the University of Greifswald, Katharina Riedel, in the direction of the Schwerin Minister of Science from the SPD.
"We expect this to be a relief, but we cannot say exactly how much at the moment," said Jan Tamm, Chancellor of the University of Rostock, with a view to the announced relief. Too much information was still missing for concrete implementation. Riedel pointed out that the universities are still facing enormous financial challenges, regardless of the planned aid. The reason is inflation and the country's plans to cut reserves.
Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) announced an aid program worth billions on Wednesday. An existing hardship fund in the state is to be increased from 30 million to 100 million euros. In addition to energy-intensive small and medium-sized companies and municipal utilities, schools, universities, social and cultural institutions could also benefit from this.
Last week, Martin also pointed out that the universities also benefited from the federal government's gas and electricity price brakes and immediate aid in the form of down payments. The universities had repeatedly drawn attention to financial concerns in the past few weeks. There were demonstrations in Rostock and Greifswald.
