Erfurt (dpa/th) – Thuringia’s Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) is pushing the pace with the aid announced by the federal government for small and medium-sized companies. “The aid programs must be in place by October 31 at the latest,” demanded the minister on Friday in Erfurt. A wave of insolvencies this winter can only be prevented if companies quickly get planning security and know what to expect. “We need clarity about what’s coming – not always new announcements.”
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had previously promised companies in the energy and price crisis support and announced a broad rescue package. The so-called energy cost containment program, which helps energy- and trade-intensive companies with grants, should be opened up to small and medium-sized companies. In addition, the support should not be limited to certain sectors. Criteria for benefiting from the aid could be, for example, the proportion of energy costs in the product or in sales, said Habeck.
Tiefensee said that his bank and in particular the Thüringer Aufbaubank were “at the ready” in order to quickly bring the planned federal aid to the companies after the relevant programs had been passed. He is currently also examining whether a bridging instrument by the state would be conceivable and useful, with which the funding could be accelerated. The country had already resorted to such offers during the Corona crisis, but had to use considerable additional resources and processing capacities to do so.
At the same time, Tiefensee renewed his proposal to temporarily refrain from reclaiming too much or wrongly paid Corona aid to companies. Here he expects a greater concession from the federal government.
