The Bundestag will debate the second increase in the fuel discount on Friday, and approval by the black-red majority is considered certain. However, the law must also be passed by the Federal Council - several federal states have already signaled their approval there. However, with words of warning. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig was particularly clear.
In the past few weeks there has been “no other issue” in her state than fuel prices, said the SPD politician in the Federal Council. The fuel discount is therefore important for people, “but it won’t be enough.” The fuel price must be below two euros again.
Allowing the fuel discount to expire in the summer without having an alternative was a mistake, said Schwesig to the federal government. She is therefore "very happy that we are deciding on the fuel discount today, even if it definitely comes too late for Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania." She was referring to the recent elections. Schwesig also welcomed the price cap planned for next year - but also called for the introduction of an excess profits tax.
Schwesig, who was able to gain considerable ground in the fight against the AfD during the election campaign, is also pushing for a meeting between Prime Ministers and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) on the reform course in Germany. “I expect that the Chancellor and the Federal Government will now also invite Prime Ministers and talk about social reforms,” said the SPD politician in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. These are important for social stability in the country. “I don’t want labor costs to continue to rise, and above all I want us to look at the system to see where there are savings opportunities and where we can make changes.” There are also suggestions from the Pension Commission that are sensible.
“We can’t spend billions every time there’s an oil price shock.”
Thuringia's Prime Minister Mario Voigt (CDU) also signaled that his country would agree to the fuel discount in the Federal Council. "We are a country where a car is not a luxury, but a necessity to get to work, to go shopping, to take the children to school or to the club," he said. 17 cents less at the pump made a “real difference.”
Bremen's mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) added in the debate that his state also supports the "short-term relief." "But one thing is also clear: We cannot spend billions every time there is a new oil price shock to make gasoline and diesel cheaper across the board." The crucial question is therefore how we can better cushion crises next time.
What is needed is more targeted relief for people who really need it, as well as a reduction in dependence on oil, said Bovenschulte. Saxony-Anhalt's Environment Minister and top candidate in the last elections, Armin Willingmann (SPD), also blamed the high fuel prices for the election results in his state - as did Schwesig. The AfD recently won state elections in both countries.
Competing for the “band-aid” – anger over the “nonsense solution”
The fuel discount was hotly debated in the Bundestag itself. The Union and SPD defended their law as quick and immediate help. Nevertheless, the discount should be “a limited exception”; it is a “band-aid,” said Union MP Stefan Korbach. The state cannot permanently absorb price fluctuations on the market. Korbach points out that a fuel price brake should help more intensively next year.
Green Party leader Katharina Dröge sharply criticized the discount, saying it was a “nonsense solution”. The money for the discount is missing elsewhere: it costs 2.5 billion euros, which is exactly how much money was cut from the budget for family benefits. Families have to suffer because the discount is now being financed, said Dröge: “Do any of them still know what the reality of life is like,” she asked the Union and the SPD.
The fuel discount decided by the government will first be put to a vote in the Bundestag in the afternoon. The law will then be forwarded to the Federal Council, which will also vote at the end of its meeting on Friday. The plans include reducing taxes on petrol and diesel by 17 cents per liter from October 1st.
