Idea against expensive EU imports: Lindner proposes "breathing" gas price caps

Finance Minister Lindner is calling for further measures to get the high prices for gas imported into the EU under control.

Idea against expensive EU imports: Lindner proposes "breathing" gas price caps

Finance Minister Lindner is calling for further measures to get the high prices for gas imported into the EU under control. His suggestion: a kind of breathing price cap. This must be higher than the world market price for liquid gas so that gas tankers don't "turn off and go to Asia".

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner calls for further efforts in the EU to cap the currently extremely high EU import price for gas. "It's about fighting bizarre gas price exaggerations," said the FDP politician to the "Rheinische Post". "Regarding gas imports, my test idea is that the EU introduces a kind of breathing cap for imported gas."

Such a cap must be "noticeably higher than the world market price for liquid gas," Lindner said. "Because it must be avoided that the gas tankers turn off and go to Asia instead of Europe." With such an instrument, it could be possible to "cut off the absurd price peaks," said Lindner.

Regarding the federal government's decision to introduce a gas price brake, Lindner said that the state would not fully compensate for the price increases resulting from the Ukraine war. "That would be neither economically possible nor would it make sense, because we need incentives for thrift," said the minister.

The federal government has set up a 200 billion euro defense against the "energy war" to prevent the destruction of livelihoods. "We protect people from financial overload and the economy from ruinous price peaks," said Lindner. But the state cannot prevent restrictions and structural change in the economy.

"What is clear is that we are paying the price for our energy dependency on Russia and our failures." The current costs for energy imports are an expression of a loss of prosperity. As finance minister, he could use loans to create a protective shield in order to reduce the shock effect. "But I cannot change the fact that we are losing capital abroad," said the FDP politician.