London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 10, 2026

Germany’s Habeck admits gas levy mistake

Germany’s Habeck admits gas levy mistake

The minister’s surcharge plans prompted a backlash after it emerged profit-making companies could benefit.
Robert Habeck is trying to correct his first major misstep.

Germany’s Green vice chancellor has had a fairly good crisis so far — but his plans for a gas levy on consumers have drawn a backlash.

Last week, the government in Berlin passed the so-called gas surcharge, which will see Germans pay a few cents extra per kilowatt-hour of gas, meaning an average four-person household will pay €480 more a year.

The revenues are meant to finance a support fund for struggling energy companies to ensure the country’s supply won’t be disrupted as utilities face soaring costs for replacing Russian imports. A large chunk will go to Uniper, which recorded billions in losses.

But this week, it emerged that companies raking in record-high profits could also benefit from the surcharge.

Consumer protection groups were outraged.

"It is incomprehensible that with the gas levy [households] should support companies that are making a tidy profit,” said Federal Consumer Association chair Ramona Pop.

Habeck, Germany’s economy and climate minister, initially tried to defend his policy and asked profit-making companies to voluntarily waive any support claims. But after mounting criticism from the opposition and even within his own government, he backtracked.

At a business conference Thursday evening, Habeck said he would try to limit which companies can benefit from the revenues and acknowledged the current design of the levy presented a “political problem” that “has really ruined my day for the last 48 hours.”

The criticism, he admitted, was “correct.” He added that the current design meant companies may have a “legally justified claim. We will look at that again to see if there is a way to ward off this justified claim,” signaling potential legal problems with revising the levy at this stage.

“But,” he said, according to a transcript of the speech, “it is certainly not morally right for companies that — let me say it plainly — have earned big bucks to say: 'For the handful of revenue losses we had, we'll ask the population ... to also give us money.'”

Finance Minister Christian Lindner also said he was open to revising the measure.

For Habeck, whose popularity has soared far past Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s approval ratings, the gas levy marks his first significant blunder since taking office in December.

In previous months, he’s been busy shoring up Germany’s energy supply for the winter. That meant restarting coal plants, begging Middle Eastern autocrats for fossil fuels and taking another look at the country’s nuclear phaseout — a less-than-ideal image for a Green climate minister.

But he’s won plaudits for solid crisis management. Germany’s gas storage sites are more than 80 percent full — well ahead of schedule — a demand reduction plan has just been approved, and a major renewables bill was passed by parliament earlier this summer.

The levy’s design, however, prompted criticism even from within the coalition. Social Democrat chair Saskia Esken and Green youth wing leader Sarah-Lee Heinrich were among those who attacked the plan.

"It can’t be that society should now bear the losses while many companies have made excess profits during this crisis,” said Heinrich.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Alleged Cartel Boss Daniel Kinahan Extradited From Dubai to Face Criminal Charges
AI Chatbots Challenge Traditional News Consumption and Raise Job Concerns
Andy Burnham Government Promises Crackdown on Exploitative Business Practices
UK University Funding Model Faces Growing Pressure From Unsustainable Student Debt
Government Urged to Subsidise Energy Bills for Vulnerable UK Households
UK Military Spending Plans Threaten to Deepen Infrastructure Funding Gap
Israeli Government Rejects US Peace Framework for Gaza
New Labour Government Signals Closer Economic and Strategic Ties With European Union
Amber Heat-Health Alerts Issued Across England as Temperatures Threaten 36 Degrees
UK Economy Expected to Grow Despite Energy and Supply Chain Shock From Iran Conflict
Foreign Social Media Accounts Drove Disinformation During Belfast and Southampton Riots
Record Number of Migrants Cross English Channel in Single Vessel as Smugglers Deploy Mega-Dinghies
Russia’s A7 Builds a State-Linked Payments Network Beyond Western Sanctions
Reports of Mark Zuckerberg-Linked Superyacht Declining Rescue Assistance Draw Maritime Scrutiny
Preserving Three Banksy Artworks in London Has Cost Taxpayers Nearly £150,000
Four Ugandan Athletes Disappear From Delegation After UK Sporting Events
French Authorities Report Channel Interventions as Cross-Border Migration Dispute Continues
Home Office Admits Error in Settled Status Case Involving Long-Term Italian Resident
Unite Calls for Independent Review of UK Budget Watchdog's Fiscal Forecasting Rules
Thinktank Calls for £175 Annual Energy Bill Cut for Low-Income Households
Foreign-Linked Social Media Accounts Amplified Recent Unrest in Belfast and Southampton, Analysis Finds
London Mayor Sadiq Khan Orders Westminster to Drop Proposed Soho and West End Hospitality Ban
Royal Navy Deployments to Monitor Russian Activity in UK Waters Rise 25 Percent
UK Economy Expected to Grow 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter Despite Geopolitical Pressures
Andy Burnham Launches Cost-of-Living Measures Targeting Subscription Traps and Misleading Discounts
Hyper-Realistic Reborn Dolls Draw Collectors Seeking Comfort and Craft
Gen Z Cuts Back on Dating as a Night Out Nears $200
Patients Turn to Artificial Intelligence for Therapy as Psychiatrists Warn of Privacy and Clinical Risks
Couples Embrace ‘Sleep Divorce’ to Protect Rest and Reduce Tension
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million and Change Facebook and Instagram Safeguards for Children
Up to only 10 Months in Prison for Swedish Officer’s Murderer Sparks Anger
Success: Nvidia Turned Gaming Chips Into the Engine of the AI Boom
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Danube Drought Exposes Nazi Wrecks and Pushes Central Europe’s Power System to the Brink
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Air Traffic Control Outage Grounded Flights Across the Midwest
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Partial Solar Eclipse Expected to Draw Interest Across Southwestern UK
UK Graduate Job Postings Fall 7% as Entry-Level Opportunities Remain Scarce
UK Private Sector Returns to Growth as July Activity Reaches Highest Level Since April
UK Summer Drought and Wildfires Raise Pressure for Stronger Environmental Measures
UK Household Credit Stress Rises as Credit Card Lending Growth Hits 12.5%
London Stock Exchange Revises AIM Rules to Make Growth Capital More Accessible
NHS England to Expand Mental Health Services With 155 New and Upgraded Facilities
UK Overhauls £90 Billion Public Procurement System to Reward Domestic Jobs and Apprenticeships
Andy Burnham Holds Strong Approval as Labour Maintains Narrow Lead Over Reform UK, Opinium Finds
×