Meseberg, 30 August 2022: the Federal Cabinet meets for its second closed session.
Like the first meeting in May, the two-day closed meeting was once again held at the Federal Government's guest house.
"This meeting,” said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the start of the conference, “will be characterised by good humour and the willingness to work together for the good of the country in a very serious situation".
Various topics were on the agenda one of which was securing the energy supply for the duration of the war in Ukraine.
The meeting began with a discussion about the national security strategy, the development of which had already been included in the coalition agreement.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has himself drawn up just such a strategy for his country, came to Meseberg as a guest speaker on this topic.
Sánchez thanked Scholz "for the confidence that this invitation to an internal cabinet meeting represents for the head of a foreign government".
Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Sánchez exchange views whilst strolling around the gardens of Schloss Meseberg.
Others, including Marie-Luise Wolff of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries and Klaus Müller of the Federal Network Agency, were also invited to discuss the issue of energy supply security in Germany.
The Federal Government had started to prepare for the situation very early on. Among other things, terminals are currently being constructed on the North German coasts in order to import liquefied gas and the existing gas storage facilities are currently over 80 percent full.
As Federal Chancellor Scholz put it, the current discussions about energy security are taking place "in view of the fact that we must also ensure that citizens and businesses in this country are able to deal with the economic and financial consequences".
The Federal Government also addressed other issues in Meseberg, such as vocational education and training, that require time for thorough discussions given the fact that the coronavirus pandemic and the digital transition are also having a particularly strong impact on the training sector.
According to Federal Chancellor Scholz, the cabinet worked intensively and with great optimism on solutions to current challenges on the first day of the closed meeting in Meseberg. “Our country is strong and well prepared for turbulent times.”
The Federal Chancellor discussed the training sector and vocational education with Yasmin Fahimi (Chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation), Andrea Nahles (Chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency), and Filiz Albrecht, Managing Director of Bosch.
Referring to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Federal Chancellor said on Wednesday that Germany would never forget that it was he who had made perestroika possible – "and that democracy and freedom in Europe had become possible, that Germany could be reunited, and that the Iron Curtain disappeared".
In addition to other Cabinet decisions, Wednesday's talks focused on the digital strategy.
"We discussed the important issues of energy security and defence,” said Federal Chancellor Scholz at the joint press conference with Minister of Economic Affairs Habeck and Finance Minister Lindner at the end of the conference: "The talks were held in a good and very constructive atmosphere, and to a certain extent we took the opportunity to express our mutual support."