Schwerin/Berlin (dpa/mv) - After the postponed agreement on the details of the planned electricity and gas price brake, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) is nevertheless satisfied with the basic agreement between the federal and state governments. However, she warned: "We don't have much time left because the solutions are long overdue," said the head of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Tuesday after the talks at the Prime Minister's Conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin. She reassured citizens and businesses already facing increases in energy prepayments that these costs will come down once the measures come into force.
A commission set up by the federal government intends to present proposals for the concrete implementation of the gas price brake in a few days. According to Schwesig, the consultations on the open questions - especially on the distribution of burdens - should then be continued on this basis at the next prime ministers' conference in around two weeks. A solution is needed quickly, "but the proposal must also be practicable and good, so the craftsmanship must also be right here," she said.
The future financing of local public transport in Germany also remained unclear on Tuesday. While the federal government had already submitted a proposal for co-financing a successor to the 9-euro ticket, the federal states are also demanding more money for the expansion and maintenance of the offer. According to the Prime Minister, the tax estimate should first be awaited, which should be available at the end of October. The SPD politician was confident: Here, too, an agreement will be reached.
The federal government wants to protect consumers and companies from high energy prices due to the Ukraine war with a package of measures worth up to 200 billion euros. Gas and electricity prices should be capped. There should be liquidity and equity support for companies. Details are still open. The aid is to be financed through loans. The consultations also included a solution to replace the 9-euro ticket for local and regional transport that expired at the end of August.
