The German state flies to the aid of the energy giant Uniper, threatened by the Russian gas crisis
A Uniper employee checks the gas storage plant near the Bavarian town of Kraiburg am Inn, June 10, 2022. REUTERS - ANDREAS GEBERT
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1 min
The current energy crisis is leading the German state to resort to an exceptional measure: Berlin announced this Friday, July 22 a rescue plan for the leading gas importer, the company Uniper, in serious difficulty which will be partly nationalized.
A measure reminiscent of the state's entry into the capital of Commerzbank during the financial crisis a dozen years ago or the acquisition of a stake in the airline Lufthansa during the Covid-19 pandemic. .
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With our correspondent in Berlin,
Pascal Thibaut
“
You'll never walk alone
”.
Olaf Scholz twice used this English expression during his press conference to insist this Friday, July 22: the state will come to the aid of the current energy crisis for businesses and consumers.
Berlin will take a 30% stake in
Uniper, the country's second largest company
by turnover.
The leading importer and storer of gas loses several tens of millions of euros per day.
To ensure its contracts, Uniper must buy much more expensive gas on the markets without being able to pass on its additional costs to its customers.
Apart from a 30% stake in the capital, public loans of around fifteen billion euros are planned.
Uniper will be able to pass on its additional costs to its customers after the summer.
Olaf Scholz estimated that this could increase the bill of a family of four by 200 to 300 euros per year.
The Chancellor announced a package of measures to reduce the consequences for people receiving social assistance, housing aid, the most modest, pensioners and students.
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