Stellenabbau soll Volkswagen 16 Milliarden Euro kosten

In the aftermath of the Ukraine war, Germany has spent approximately 50.4 billion euros to alleviate the burden on consumers during the energy crisis and stabilize markets, according to a response from the Federal Finance Ministry to a query from Green budget expert Sebastian Schäfer. The Süddeutsche Zeitung had previously reported on this figure.

The largest expenditure was the 16.3 billion euros allocated for the electricity price cap implemented at the end of 2022, while the gas price cap cost the nation 14.3 billion euros. An additional 8.5 billion euros was spent on emergency relief, which the government used to temporarily cover gas purchase advance payments in December 2022. In total, the finance ministry lists 27 separate expenditures, including over six billion euros for "energy price premiums" for pensioners.

However, the Green Bundestag deputy Schäfer warns of the dangers of unilateral dependencies in energy supply. "We must never again find ourselves in such one-sided and risky dependencies," he stated. The import of oil and gas over the years has funneled billions into the coffers of Russian President Vladimir Putin, simultaneously weakening Europe's security and political capabilities to act.