AP

German parliament clears way for huge energy relief package

Oct 20, 2022, 4:19 PM | Updated: Oct 21, 2022, 4:20 am

FILE --Power poles stand on fields on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. (...

FILE --Power poles stand on fields on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst,file)

(AP Photo/Michael Probst,file)

BERLIN (AP) — The German parliament on Friday cleared the way for the government to provide up to 200 billion euros ($195 billion) in subsidies to households and businesses to ease the strain of high energy prices, a plan that has been greeted with suspicion elsewhere in Europe.

Lawmakers agreed to let a government economic stabilization fund borrow the money and approved an exemption from a rule that imposes severe limits on running up new debt.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted that the decision was “good news for all who are looking with concern at their service costs, and for small businesses and companies.”

Details of how exactly the plan will work have yet to be finalized. A government-appointed expert panel last week proposed a two-stage system for the part of the package that would address natural gas bills.

It suggested that the state take on the cost of gas customers’ monthly bill in December, followed by a price subsidy for part of what they use starting early next year.

The package, which is expected to run through 2024, also is supposed to help limit electricity prices if imposing a levy on power companies’ high profits doesn’t provide enough money. Details of that aspect are still being worked on.

Some other European Union countries think the move by the 27- nation bloc’s biggest economy should have been coordinated with them and have expressed concern that it could jack up prices elsewhere.

Scholz has repeatedly defended the plan and insisted that Germany is showing solidarity with the rest of Europe. In a speech to the German parliament before an EU summit that opened Thursday, he said that measured over 2½ years, it adds up to 2% of Germany’s gross domestic product.

“That is in the magnitude of the packages that have been and are being drawn up elsewhere in Europe this year — in France, in Italy or in Spain, for example,” he said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

24 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

German parliament clears way for huge energy relief package