The SVP national councilors are calling for an extraordinary session to be held on the rescue of Axpo by the Confederation. The National’s office will take a position next week, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
The SVP has already fulfilled the formal conditions for an extraordinary session. More than a quarter – his 55 national councilors – of a Chamber signed his request. The board sits Monday. If he approves the request, the session should take place in the third week of the ordinary session.
As a reminder, an extraordinary session allows a minority sitting in a chamber or in the Federal Council to participate actively in the planning of the parliamentary calendar – the ordinary sessions being scheduled two years in advance by the Coordination Conference.
>> Also read: The Confederation comes to the rescue of Axpo with a framework loan of 4 billion
Price spike
Struggling to cope with the drastic rise in energy prices, the company Axpo has applied for federal support. The latter granted him Tuesday a framework credit of 4 billion francs. The Parliament’s Finance Delegation, seized urgently, gave the green light in the wake of a commitment appropriation of 10 billion francs, as well as a supplement to the 2022 budget of 4 billion.
State support is subject to strict conditions: usual interest rates, risk premium, prohibition on paying dividends, selling assets or carrying out restructuring that could jeopardize the repayment of loans or any warranties. Axpo must also provide the relevant federal services with the necessary information and documents.
Energy prices have soared due to the war in Ukraine and the low availability of French nuclear power plants. Since the electricity and gas markets are closely linked, prices rose sharply during the summer with the interruption of Russian gas deliveries.
ats/rad