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ENERGY

German government ‘set to ditch controversial gas levy’

The gas levy - which would have cost the average family in Germany another €500 a year - likely won’t come into force after all, according to German media reports.

A woman holds euro bills next to a gas flame on a kitchen stove in Frankfurt (Oder).
A woman holds euro bills next to a gas flame on a kitchen stove in Frankfurt (Oder). Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Patrick Pleul

According to reports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Germany’s controversial Gasumlage – or gas levy – will get axed either Tuesday or Wednesday, with a Gaspreisdeckel, or a cap on the price of gas, set to replace it.

Energy and Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens insisted once again just last week that the levy would go ahead.

It would see an additional 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour passed on to consumers, in order to stabilise Germany’s energy providers, which are also struggling with higher costs after Russia cut off cheap supplies.

German and Danish investigators are now investigating whether the Nord Stream II pipeline, which Berlin axed in February in the days leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was deliberately sabotaged Monday, as it leaks gas into the sea.

With electricity prices having doubled and gas prices nearly quintupling, several politicians – also with the government’s own traffic light coalition – have called for the levy to be scrapped.

Lars Klingbeil, co-leader for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, told public broadcaster ZDF that the gas levy was on “politically shaky ground”.

“It must be clear that we have the strength to discuss this openly and correct ourselves if necessary,” he said.

“The gas levy makes gas prices more expensive, which raises the question of whether it makes sense economically,” said Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who leads the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

FAZ reports that negotiations between the three governing parties and relevant energy companies were nearing an end Tuesday, with the Cabinet expected to make a final decision Wednesday morning.

A gas price cap is likely to replace plans for a gas levy, which would see a limit on what consumers would pay their energy companies for gas, leaving the federal government to pick up the bill for the difference when market prices go above the designated cap.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Will Germany set a gas price cap and how would it work?

With the gas price cap already having the support of many Social Democrats and Greens, Lindner’s FDP is set to agree to it provided a few conditions are met.

“As the FDP, we can foresee a gas price brake coming into force,” Christian Dürr, who leads the FDP in the Bundestag, told Deutschlandfunk. “Now, frankly, I expect the Greens to move on the issue of extending the life of nuclear power plants and restarting coal-fired power plants.”

It’s not yet clear though how the government would pay for the cap. The FDP has been resistant to suspending Germany’s constitutionally enshrined debt brake, which limits what they can borrow.

The SPD and the Greens want to suspend it to pay for a gas price cap, which could cost the government between €30 and €50 billion according to one estimate.

The debt brake can be suspended in emergency situations, such as in March 2020, when the German government put it on ice to pay for the first Covid-19 rescue package.

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MONEY

How German ministers want to protect online ticket purchases

Once a year, consumer rights ministers from Germany's federal and state governments gather for a joint conference. This year, improving online ticket sales and better data protection measures are on the agenda.

How German ministers want to protect online ticket purchases

North Rhine-Westphalia’s consumer protection minister Silke Gorißen (CDU) will present proposals for further consumer protections for online ticket sales at the consumer ministers conference (VMK) on Thursday and Friday. 

Gorißen is pushing to make online ticket sales more transparent and give consumers more rights to back out of purchases if they don’t have enough information. 

Under the proposals, consumers would receive more information before purchasing tickets, such as details on the number of tickets sold by each provider and the prices for different seat categories.

Currently, ticket prices are often only visible during the purchasing process. 

The ministers will also consider whether consumers should be granted a right of withdrawal when buying tickets online. 

READ ALSO: How Germany is making it easier for consumers to cancel contracts

“The process of buying tickets is becoming increasingly complex and confusing, often limited to very narrow time windows,” Gorißen told DPA ahead of the conference. “I expect providers to act more in the interest of consumers. The market power of large ticket portals should not result in unclear and non-transparent sales.”

More data protection online

According to DPA, Gorißen also wants users of telecomms services to be better protected when it comes to their personal data. 

NRW’s consumer minister believes providers of emails, chats, or telecommunications services should be required to put measures in place to detect malware that’s designed to steal personal information from users. This should be done at the EU level, Gorißen said. 

Moreover, Gorißen says there should be more information on online safety made available through a consumer hotline. 

“IT security responsibility should not solely depend on the digital competence of users,” the CDU culture minister explained. “Protection against cyberattacks must become a societal responsibility.”

READ ALSO: The German mobile companies with the best – and worst – coverage

The proposals are set to be voted on by consumer ministers on Friday. 

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