According to reports citing government and coalition circles, Lars Klingbeil, the Finance Minister from the SPD, appears to be blocking several energy laws proposed by Economic Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) during internal governmental consultations.
Specifically, Klingbeil has expressed concerns regarding key plans such as the building modernization law (the “heating law”), the strategy for building new gas-fired power plants, the revised Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), the grid package, and the federal supply plan. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) has also registered some reservations.
Sources within the SPD attribute these blockades to the belief that Reiche’s proposals restrict the expansion of renewable energies too significantly. The CDU, however, has dismissed these objections as unfounded. Tilman Kuban, a CDU economics politician, told the “Handelsblatt” that “it is time for the SPD to abandon its blockade stance and prioritize the affordability of energy for the sake of the population”. Andreas Lenz, the CDU’s economic policy spokesperson, added, “The SPD and SPD entities are hitting the brakes, and at various points”.
Although Nina Scheer, the SPD’s energy policy spokesperson, denied that her party was blocking legislation, she told the “Handelsblatt” that laws like the EEG amendment or the grid package are “not compatible with the goals and measures set out in the coalition agreement”. According to the newspaper, both the Finance Ministry and the Economics Ministry declined to comment on the ongoing deliberations.