“is confusing”
Habeck finds citizen relief confusing
12/20/2022, 8:57 p.m
After various traffic light relief packages, the citizen can sometimes lose track. Economics Minister Habeck sees it that way too. Only because he is a politician himself does he still know who is getting funding and where. The nuclear phase-out in April is not a problem for the Greens.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck has admitted that the various reliefs for citizens have now become “confusing”. In an interview with ntv, the Green politician said that one could “confidently deny that everyone knows what is happening”. There are “so many measures, so many laws and so many subsidies, if I weren’t a politician, I wouldn’t know it anymore,” he said. “It’s really confusing.” Unfortunately, targeted relief from the state failed due to technical hurdles. “There is an urgent need for an interface. It needs an overall system.” The Ministry of Finance is already working on it.
The Greens praised the Germans for their restrictions on gas consumption. “Citizens really save gas. Many people no longer heat like they did last year,” said the Economics Minister to ntv. He wants to say thank you for that. The last few weeks have been “statistically not good”. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the inner attitude of most Germans is that they know what the hour has come.”
“Security of supply without nuclear power”
In the dispute that recently broke out about the term of the three German nuclear power plants in view of the high electricity prices, the minister was confident. Because a new gas infrastructure is being created, the last three nuclear power plants can be switched off in the spring. “We can manage security of supply even without nuclear power. The gas supply will be different.”
The accelerated pace of building the first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven should also be extended to other areas of infrastructure, Habeck told broadcasters. “It would be nice if LPG terminal pace was the new normal.” At the same time, the applicability of the accelerated planning and approval procedures was limited. “I would like us to do the same in other areas that are important for social progress and where there is a consensus.”