Germany Drafts Law Allowing Nationalisation of Energy Companies in Special Cases, Reports Say

BERLIN (Sputnik) - The German Economy Ministry drafted a law that provides for the possibility of nationalising energy sector companies in an emergency cases, the Wolfsburger Nachrichten newspaper reported, citing the document.

The new bill, which was prepared by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, will amend the law on energy security, which will allow introducing guardianship management in the event of a crisis in enterprises that operate critical energy infrastructure, and even nationalising them in emergency situations.

The ministry will be able to introduce a guardianship department "when there is a specific threat that an enterprise will not be able to fulfill its obligations necessary for the functioning of the state in the energy sector without a guardianship department, and the security of energy supply will be threatened", the newspaper said.

The Board of Trustees will then be introduced for six months with the possibility of extension.

Nationalisation will be applied if the guardianship is not enough to guarantee the security of the energy supply. At the same time, the nationalisation in the accompanying note is called "extreme measure".

"In cases where a trusteeship or a more benign measure, like a sale, seems insufficient, nationalisation may follow," the document says.