At the two-day cabinet meeting in Schloss Meseberg, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) reaffirmed the government’s achievement of climate protection targets. “We are currently in a great time of turmoil,” Scholz said in front of the castle. This is not only due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, but also the necessary transformation of the economy due to the climate crisis. Germany will restructure its economy “at great speed so that we can operate in a CO₂-neutral manner,” Scholz promised.
The Tagesspiegel app Current news, background information and analysis directly on your smartphone. Plus the digital newspaper. Download here for free.
The Federal Cabinet welcomed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), as the first guest. She also spoke in a joint press release with Scholz about the importance of fighting global warming. Last year, for the first time, more electricity was produced from wind and sun than from gas. Scholz said the “most important question” was how to “stop man-made climate change”.
Both also stressed the importance of continued economic growth despite the necessary transformation. Von der Leyen said energy costs for businesses are “relatively high” compared to other regions of the world. “We must work together to improve our competitiveness,” she said.
According to Scholz, the semaphore government formed by the SPD, Verdes and FDP will speak in the exam on “fundamental issues” that “are very, very important for the future of our country and that we believe are worth including in order to negotiate a little peace ”. It is important that society remains confident.
Dispute between the FDP and the Greens
On the sidelines of the closed conference in Meseberg, it will be about pacifying various points of contention in the traffic light coalition. In particular, the FDP and the Greens got stuck on several content-related points last week.
Among other things, it concerns the end of combustion engines at EU level by 2035. The FDP had stated that it did not want to approve the plans, and the final decision has now been postponed. Another point of contention is the planned ban on the installation of new gas and oil heating systems from 2024, the FDP rejected the plans.
More on the subject in Tagesspiegel Plus:
Mockery and resentment Who against whom? These are the biggest arguments at the traffic light Bahn versus Straße Volker Wissing is in a quandary Interview with Women’s Minister Paus “We still live in patriarchy”
There is more disagreement about the introduction of basic child safety. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) would like to spend less money than Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens). In the Tagesspiegel, Paus reiterated his desire for fundamental reform. “We are well advised to create a basic child safety scheme that deserves the name and really works against child poverty,” she said. “We cannot accept that 2.8 million children and young people are at risk of poverty.”
Controversial issues are not on the official agenda, but the Chancellor hopes that the coalition partners will find common ground on several points. (with kch/mko)
to the home page