Overview
- Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said she expects an industrial power price to start on January 1, 2026, with EU state‑aid rules capping relief at up to 50% of costs for up to half of a firm's usage, a minimum effective price of €50/MWh, and a three‑year limit.
- A Deutsche Energieagentur concept cited by multiple reports outlines a target price of five cents per kWh and total program costs of roughly €4.5 billion over three years, with plans to keep paperwork for efficiency commitments as light as possible.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host industry leaders and the premiers of North Rhine‑Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saarland to discuss resilience, trade measures and energy costs, with Klingbeil, Reiche and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas attending.
- Lars Klingbeil called for a complete halt to Russian steel imports, arguing current EU sanctions still allow Russian slab that is further processed in the bloc, and urged preference for European‑made, low‑carbon steel in key sectors.
- At EU level, a proposal would cut duty‑free steel quotas to 18.3 million tonnes annually and impose a 50% tariff above that, which still requires agreement by member states and the European Parliament, while unions and state leaders press for procurement preference and additional relief such as extended free CO2 certificates.