"Unfortunate situation": Habeck's ministry defends the end of the e-car premium
The spokesperson added: "We very much regret this, and we know that it is an unfortunate situation for those who had hoped for the funding." However, the short-term expiry of the funding program had become necessary "because there is no longer enough money available to consider applications received after Sunday".
The decision to end the funding at short notice had been "determined together with the Federal Chancellery ", the spokesperson added. "We therefore reject the one-sided criticism of this."
According to information from ministry circles, the accusation of "one-sided criticism" referred to statements from the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, which had described the short-term expiry of funding on 17 December as "extremely unfortunate" and called on Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) to "organize a more reliable transition here".
However, "all funds available in the 2023 financial year have already been exhausted", according to Habeck's ministry. The funds of 209 million euros still earmarked for 2024 "will only be sufficient if the funding ends with immediate effect".
According to AFP information, around 1,400 applications were recently received every day, with an average funding amount of 4,000 euros. Every additional day of applications costs the state around 5.6 million euros. If applications had been stopped at the end of the year, as had initially been expected, additional funds of around 80 million euros would have been required.
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- The Federal Ministry of Economics, led by Robert Habeck, defended the abrupt ending of the e-car premium from 'Berlin' funding, citing insufficient funds.
- The Federal Chancellery, in collaboration with Habeck's ministry, had determined the need for this 'unfortunate situation', drawing criticism from the SPD parliamentary group.
- The 'funding program' for electric cars was set to expire due to a lack of available funds, forcing the cancellation of applications received after 'Sunday'.
- The Federal Constitutional Court has yet to rule on the legality of the funding program's short-termination, with hearings expected in the new year.
- The Federal Government, in response to criticism, emphasized that the situation was not a result of mismanagement or neglect, but rather financial constraints.
- In defense of the decision, Habeck's ministry argued that the 'Federal Ministry of Economics' had already spent all the funds allocated for 2023, necessitating an immediate end to the program.
- Despite the criticism, Robert Habeck reiterated that the 'e-car bonus' would still be available in 2024, albeit with limited funds, as the program had drained the 209 million euros earmarked for that year.
- The premature termination of the funding program has sparked debate, with politicians calling for alternative solutions to promote electric vehicle adoption under the current 'havecks'.
Source: www.stern.de
