Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has criticized the federal government for not having provided relief for small and medium-sized companies that heat with oil and pellets, contrary to their promises. "Our small and medium-sized companies in particular need clarity in the crisis. They must be able to trust the announcements made by the federal government," said Wüst of the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post" (Thursday).
"In December, the Federal Chancellor had promised to relieve our medium-sized companies of the costs of oil and pellets. The blocking of the funds required for this is a political breach of promise and a big mistake," said Wüst. Many companies had firmly planned the relief and were now "in difficult waters".
The budget committee had decided that the financial support from the federal government for energy cost hardship regulations for small and medium-sized companies would not include any aid for heating oil and pellets. The hardship regulations should be limited to the relief of electricity and grid-bound energy sources (gas, heat). The aim of the hardship aid is for small and medium-sized companies to receive additional financial aid if the energy crisis hits them particularly hard.
The conference of economics ministers of the federal states had already appealed to the budget committee of the Bundestag last Friday to revise the "counterproductive decision".
