"This war has repercussions for Germany, and the government considers it its responsibility to limit the damage to the economy," Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at a press conference.

This "protective shield" contains in particular an envelope of 100 billion euros in loans guaranteed by the State and 7 billion euros in public loans at reduced rates, detailed the Ministry of the Economy.

Berlin also plans to grant direct aid of up to "5 billion euros" to reduce the energy bill of businesses, added Mr. Lindner.

Finally, the plan paves the way for “capital aid” granted by the State for the companies most in difficulty.

"This is an economic depreciation program," Lindner commented.

The war in Ukraine is hitting the powerful German industrial sector hard, particularly because of the cost of energy, which has soared since the Russian invasion.

German industrialists, who depend heavily on international trade, are also affected by disruptions in supply chains, and by the sanctions imposed on Russia.

The plan presented on Friday is inspired by the business aid programs released in recent years against the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and which have covered 134 billion euros since 2020 for Germany.

A cost that should not however be reached by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, according to Mr. Lindner: “the current economic situation is different from that of the pandemic” because “economic growth and the situation on the labor market are stable” , he commented.

Aid for businesses is in addition to the billions of euros released at the end of March to support households in the face of rising heating and fuel prices, in particular via direct aid and tax reductions.

All of these expenses will be subject to an extension to the 2022 federal budget, which already provides for 99.7 billion euros in new debt, the government has already warned without specifying the additional amount to be budgeted.

© 2022 AFP