Controversial heating law
Habeck and Scholz are confident
06/05/2023, 11:50 am
For weeks, the traffic light about the planned heating law has been torn apart. Chancellor Scholz and Economics Minister Habeck are nevertheless confident that this can be passed before the summer break. However, this requires something that is probably not given to everyone.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Robert Habeck believe that the controversial heating law can be passed soon after the latest talks within the traffic light coalition. “I see no fundamental problem in getting a good law and a degree before the summer holidays,” said the Greens politician Habeck in Berlin. The goal can be achieved “if all actors play along benevolently”. The talks, which are now being continued behind the scenes, are going “quite well”.
Deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said Scholz was involved in the current talks about this law, known as the heating law. “According to the Chancellor’s assessment, the talks in parliament are going constructively and things are progressing well,” said Büchner. “That’s why the Chancellor, as he said on several occasions over the weekend, is still optimistic that we can pass this in the Bundestag before the summer break.”
The federal cabinet unanimously approved the bill. However, the coalition has been arguing for weeks now about the future requirements for heating. The FDP still sees a need for clarification and considers an agreement before the parliamentary summer break to be unrealistic. FDP General Secretary Djir-Sarai warned against adopting a “bad law” due to time pressure. “I don’t share the view of doing these things before the summer break in the belief that nobody will talk about them afterwards,” said Djir-Sarai on Sunday evening on ARD.
The coalition had actually agreed that the law should be passed in the Bundestag before the summer break, as it should come into force at the turn of the year. However, time is now running out for this. A first round of deliberations would have to take place in the next week of meetings from June 12th. After that, only two more weeks of sessions are planned before the parliamentary summer recess, which begins in the second week of July.
Greens want a quick farewell
The Greens insist on adhering to the agreed timetable. The law must be introduced to the Bundestag in the next week of meetings so that it can then be passed before the summer break, said the parliamentary director of the Greens parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, the editorial network Germany. It is important that people finally get clarity about what is to come.
The GEG draft envisages that from 2024 onwards only new heating systems will be installed that are operated with at least 65 percent renewable energies. Various exceptions and funding programs are intended to cushion this socially. In the meantime, Habeck, who presented the law together with SPD building minister Klara Geywitz, has announced several changes to enable an agreement with the FDP.