Shortly before the cabinet meeting at Schloss Meseberg, the German economy is demanding unity and reforms from the federal government in view of the weak economy. However, there is disagreement between associations about a state-subsidized industrial electricity price for energy-intensive companies.
The general manager of the industry association BDI, Tanja Gönner, emphasized that “a clear agenda for business and industry that enables long-term growth through higher private and public investments” is necessary. Crisis management is no longer enough.
“After the false start at the end of the summer break, the traffic light coalition must now show its ability to act and overcome internal disagreements,” says Thilo Brodtmann, general manager of the mechanical engineering association VDMA, with a view to the recent dispute about basic child security. “Be it the Growth Opportunities Act or the Bureaucracy Relief Act – the economy is waiting for the coalition partners to live up to their own standards and dare to make progress.” It is about relieving the burden on the broad industrial middle class – for example by reducing the taxes and levies that increase the price of electricity and reducing bureaucracy.
“Make impending economic difficulties a top priority”
The Association of the Chemical Industry (VCI) takes the chancellor directly to task. “Olaf Scholz must show clear leadership and make the impending economic imbalance a top priority,” says a letter from VCI President Markus Steilemann, which was available to the German Press Agency.
Politicians must restore faith in the location. In the letter, the VCI advocated, among other things, a limited industrial electricity price, the accelerated expansion of the energy grids and faster approval processes. The “Augsburger Allgemeine” had previously reported on it.
The President of the Federal Association of Wholesale and Foreign Trade, Dirk Jandura, demanded that the federal government prove its ability to act. “We can’t afford to wait any longer, otherwise the economy will finally slide into a recession.”
The cabinet retreat in Meseberg will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The traffic light coalition could pave the way for a growth package for the German economy: the Growth Opportunities Act, which provides around 50 tax breaks for companies, is to be launched in Meseberg on Wednesday.
Dispute over an industrial electricity price
The SPD parliamentary group came together for a two-day retreat in Wiesbaden, which discussed a state-subsidized industrial electricity price, incentives for switching to renewable energies and energy partnerships. The SPD parliamentary group had proposed an industrial electricity price of five cents per kilowatt hour limited to at least five years.
There is a dispute in the federal government about the industrial electricity price. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants a “bridging electricity price” of six cents per kilowatt hour for particularly energy-intensive companies for a transitional phase. The FDP rejects an industrial electricity price, as does Chancellor Scholz.
There was also opposition from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). An industrial electricity price set for five years does not help, said DIHK President Peter Adrian on Deutschlandfunk. Entrepreneurs often have depreciation of ten to 15 years when investing in new production facilities. The DIHK would like “energy partnerships” between energy producers and industrial and commercial companies. These and associated investments in regenerative energies should be subsidized by the federal government with a one-off payment.
