"Germany aims to fast-track a controversial plan to create a 200 billion energy fund to shield citizens and firms from historic price shocks, according to a draft law seen Friday by AFP. Sources said the legislation, including caps on power prices, could be presented to the cabinet as early as Monday. The draft warns that if gas and electricity prices continued to surge without state intervention, "production stoppages for energy-intensive companies must be expected", leading to a "downward spiral of the German economy"."
"Chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended the package against the criticism, citing the potentially crushing economic blow of energy shortages this winter. He has also stressed that the 200 billion fund to finance support measures would be spread out over a few years until 2024. The 200 billion is also to be pumped into an economic stability fund outside the government's main budget, allowing the government to stick to constitutional debt rules that limit public deficits."
"The head of the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Peter Adrian, underlined the need for extraordinary measures to weather the crisis in Europe's economic powerhouse. "We are threatened with a loss of prosperity on a scale that was unimaginable until now," he told the daily Rheinische Post, noting that German gas prices were about 10 times as high as those in the United States."
Germany plans a 200 billion euro energy fund with proposed caps on power prices to shield citizens and firms from historic gas and electricity price shocks. The draft law warns that without state intervention surging prices could halt production at energy-intensive companies and trigger a downward spiral in the economy. EU partners urged coordinated, EU-wide solutions while Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the unilateral measures and said funding will be spread to 2024 and placed in an external economic stability fund to respect constitutional debt limits. Business leaders warned of an unprecedented threat to prosperity, noting gas prices about ten times US levels.
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