Conflicts – Berlin – Scholz advises country leaders on Corona, Ukraine, energy – politics
Berlin/Düsseldorf (dpa) – Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will meet again on Thursday (2 p.m.) for consultations with the prime ministers. In February, the federal and state governments agreed to analyze the current corona situation and the burden on the clinics again before all drastic corona requirements in Germany are to be lifted on March 20.
In view of the sharp increase in the number of new infections, there are serious concerns from the federal states, but also from medical circles. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) warned of a “blind flight”. A dispute between the country heads and the chancellor is therefore expected. New corona resolutions from the federal and state governments are not expected.
According to the provisional agenda for the Prime Ministers’ Conference (MPK), which is available to the German Press Agency, the deliberations should also deal with the Ukraine crisis and the galloping development of energy prices and an accelerated energy transition. The chairman of the MPK, North Rhine-Westphalia’s head of government Hendrik Wüst (CDU), is stuck on a business trip in Israel because of a corona infection and wants to lead the conference via video link from Jerusalem. The prime ministers initially consult internally in the morning before the debate with the chancellor. Due to the pandemic, the consultations have been mostly in digital format for months.
The Bundestag discussed changes to the Infection Protection Act for the first time on Wednesday. The plans of the traffic light coalition are to be adopted in the plenum on Friday.
From March 20, a draft drawn up by the federal government provides for only a few general protective rules with mask and test requirements in facilities for vulnerable groups. However, the federal states should be able to decide on further requirements in particularly endangered corona regions – such as specifications for masks, distance, tests and hygiene – if their state parliaments determine a particularly critical situation for them. Most federal states have already announced that they intend to use a transition period of up to two weeks provided for in the draft law in order to be able to maintain stricter access or mask regulations until April 2nd.
Wüst wants to make the Russian war in Ukraine the focus of the deliberations of the heads of government. Among other things, it should be about the accommodation and care of the refugees from Ukraine as well as the distribution between the federal states. Funding should also be discussed with the federal government, the MPK chairman recently warned. He will also put the effects of the sanctions against Russia on the German economy and federal aid on the agenda.
Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) would like to expand the MPK into an energy summit and also take into account the major consequences of the war for motorists and private households in Germany. The federal government has already announced relief for citizens in the case of fuel and heating costs.
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