Germany said Thursday it would plough 200 billion euros ($194 billion) into shielding households and businesses from skyrocketing energy costs in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The German government will do everything so that prices sink,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, announcing the package which includes a gas price cap and a plan to cream off windfall profits made by energy companies little hit by soaring gas prices.
The multi-billion-euro fund was designed to ensure that Germany could contend with the fallout from rising prices “this year and next year and the one after that”, Scholz said. Germany, which has been highly dependent on imports of fossil fuels from Russia to meet its energy needs, has come under acute stress as Moscow’s supplies dwindle. Thursday’s announcement came as inflation soared to a 70-year high of 10 percent in September, according to official data, driven higher by spiking energy prices. “We find ourselves in an energy war over prosperity and freedom,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.