Uniper did not participate in the development of the gas levy for the Germans

BERLIN, 29 Aug – PRIME. The German concern Uniper did not take part in the development of a gas fee for the population of Germany, Beate Baron, a representative of the country’s Ministry of Economy, said at a briefing in Berlin.

“You refer to reports that claim that the order (on the gas tax – ed.) was written by the bosses of the companies, this is not true, I want to refute it. The order, as well as the law on energy security … were discussed, of course, with the federal lands, with associations, with (market) participants, how it is done in such processes… In the context of the measures to save Uniper, we, of course, spoke with Uniper and the Finnish owner of Fortum,” Baron said, answering a relevant media question.

She also noted that as part of a specific discussion of a package of measures to help Uniper, closed consultations were held in the Ministry of Economy, also with the participation of third-party financial experts.

Baron recalled that for Uniper and for the group of companies formerly known as Gazprom Germania, “billion-dollar assistance packages were formed in Germany – 15 billion (euros) for Uniper and 9 billion loans for … Gazprom Germania.”

Earlier, the German Ministry of Finance reported that in order to support gas importers from October this year until 2024, the country will begin to levy the so-called gas levy. Its size, as reported on Monday by Trading Hub Europe, will be 2.4 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. The European Commission has denied Berlin’s request not to impose VAT on the gas levy, which has been introduced since October, the Welt TV channel reported on Tuesday. According to the channel, Brussels believes that there can be no exceptions in the matter of taxation, but they continue “together with Berlin to work on a decision on VAT.”

Now in Germany, an energy collapse is predicted in the winter due to a possible cessation of Russian gas supplies. Economics Minister Robert Habek and Federal Grid Agency head Klaus Müller have repeatedly urged the country’s citizens to reduce their electricity consumption in order to save money.