Overview
- After a second Industriekonferenz, Ministerpräsident Dietmar Woidke said he will press Berlin for an industrial electricity price, less bureaucracy, support for the steel sector and simpler recruitment of foreign skilled workers.
- Roughly 20 companies joined unions, chambers and associations to assess crisis pressures and potential relief measures with the state government.
- PCK refinery chief Ralf Schairer called for changes to CO2 pricing and urged the federal government not to go beyond EU legal requirements on renewables.
- Business groups including the IHK Cottbus and VCI Nordost pushed for a reassessment of energy policy and lower power costs, with chemical industry leaders urging a swift "Herbst der Reformen."
- The DGB warned of widespread job risks tied to high energy prices, U.S. tariffs and foreign competition, while noting PCK’s role in supplying fuel to northeast Germany and Berlin.