Potsdam (dpa / bb) – According to Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD), companies in Brandenburg cannot hope for short-term state aid to compensate for losses caused by the war in Ukraine. “The state cannot compensate for the negative effects of the Ukraine war, I agree with the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs,” said Steinbach on Wednesday in the state parliament’s economic committee. The minister added that the state would still have to be able to act if a “second wave of effects” for companies came with gas and oil embargoes.
Steinbach pointed out that the federal government had launched credit and guarantee programs to secure the liquidity of companies because of the increased energy costs. There is also a subsidy program for a narrowly limited group of energy-intensive companies. Because small and medium-sized companies tend to form the backbone of the economy in Brandenburg, he wrote to Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) asking him to consider expanding the subsidy program for these companies. According to Steinbach, there are currently no figures on the effects of the Ukraine war on companies in Brandenburg.
Steinbach rejected the state aid in this area demanded by the opposition factions. In contrast to the Corona aid, which applied to a limited group of companies, all companies would be entitled to apply for aid due to increased costs, the minister said in justification. It is also not possible to take out further loans for such aid because there is no national emergency in this area.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220511-99-237990/3
–
