What Has A Positive Effect Should Be Continued

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

Bavaria's Environment Minister Markus Söder has called for the scrapping premium to be extended. According to the CSU politician, it is a win-win situation for both the citizen and the state. Other politicians see it similarly.

The scrapping bonus for old cars continues to cause a rush in the dealerships. Around a quarter of a million funding applications have been received by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control since January. Because of the strong interest, calls for an increase in the funds, which are limited to 1.5 billion euros, are getting louder. Bavaria's Environment and Health Minister Markus Söder (CSU) pleaded for an extension of the premium. «It leads to an absolute profit situation for everyone: citizens, business and the state. What has a positive effect should be continued. There is no reason to let this successful instrument run out,”Söder told the newspaper“BZ am Sonntag”.

Guaranteed payout

There are similar signals in the SPD. The Saarland SPD chairman Heiko Maas told the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" (Saturday): "Every consumer who has his old car scrapped and is buying a new car this year should be guaranteed the payment of 2500 euros." He responded to reports that the planned 1.5 billion euros for the scrapping premium could be exhausted in a few weeks.

North Rhine-Westphalia's SPD leader Hannelore Kraft and Baden-Württemberg's SPD parliamentary group leader Claus Schmiedel made similar statements. The premium is financed almost by itself through higher tax revenue, said Schmiedel of the German press agency dpa. "If I then add how many people are not on short-time work or unemployed as a result, the result is a plus."

The industrial policy commissioner of the SPD parliamentary group, Garrelt Duin, sees good chances for an increase: "I see the coalition's basic willingness, there is movement in it," he told the "Braunschweiger Zeitung" (Saturday). So far, however, the government and coalition have postponed the public debate in order not to “take the pressure off the boiler” too early.

The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control, which is responsible for the payment, reports on its website (www.bafa.de) that 241,280 applications for the environmental bonus had been received by Friday (March 13). Given the calculation basis of 600,000 possible applications, more than 350,000 applications could still be submitted.

The German model could catch on: According to a newspaper report, Great Britain is also planning a scrapping bonus. The British Economy Minister Peter Mandelson wants to make car owners buy a new car with a premium of 2000 pounds (almost 2200 euros), reported the newspaper "The Times" on Saturday, citing high-ranking government circles. (dpa)