Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) has criticized the decision of the Budget Committee of the Bundestag on energy hardship aid for companies. “This decision clearly contradicts the previous talks between the federal and state governments. That is unacceptable,” said the CDU politician on Tuesday in Magdeburg. The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) “massively destroyed trust” with this decision.

The decision of the budget committee shows that the financial support from the federal government for energy cost hardship regulations for small and medium-sized companies does not include any support for heating oil and pellets. The hardship regulations should be limited to the relief of electricity and line-bound energy sources (gas, heat), it says.

Schulze emphasized that the prices of non-grid-bound energy sources have also risen sharply. In addition, some companies have deliberately switched to other energy sources in order to save gas. Therefore, the decision of the budget committee is incomprehensible and wrong, according to the economics minister.