Scholz defends German gas price brake

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) defended the German gas price brake against criticism from the European Commission. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton certainly knows that “the measures are not isolated, they have been taken elsewhere and are quite justified”, at a press conference in Berlin with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday.

“Some other countries are already doing exactly what we have planned for this year and for the next two years, with great support and measures,” Scholz said. He also stressed that the 200 billion euro package is “not just a short period this year”. Rather, it goes into 2024. should have a long-term effect.

Overall, “it’s a very balanced, very smart, very stable package that serves to keep prices low and tolerable as long as these challenges exist,” Scholz added.

When asked about joint borrowing at EU level during the crisis, Scholz pointed out that most of the money from the Corona restructuring fund has not yet been spent. “Most of the funds have not been used to date, but will be spent gradually over the next few years,” Scholz said.

Paolo Gentiloni and Thierry Breton, EU Commissioners for the Economy and Internal Market, had previously criticized the German gas price brake in a guest article for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” and other European newspapers: Package of up to 200 billion euros financed by German loans “Questions ” is throwing.

“There are Member States that do not have the same budget as Germany,” says the text. For this reason, the commission members warned about the deterioration of competition in the domestic market. “We must consider common European means to prevent the different leeway that states have in their national budgets from causing internal distortions,” they wrote.