The state cuts taxes, but fuel prices remain high. The suspicion: The oil multinationals put at least part of the money in their own pockets. Demands for tougher action are increasing.
The tank discount to relieve the citizens threatens to have no effect due to the continued high fuel prices – now top politicians from the FDP and CDU are calling on Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) to take action against the mineral oil companies. The SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken brings a temporary speed limit and temporary driving bans into play.
“Minister Habeck must now put pressure on and, together with the Federal Cartel Office, ensure that the relief takes effect,” said the FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr of the “Bild” newspaper (Saturday). It must be prevented that the mineral oil industry does not pass on the tank discount in full. The deputy leader of the Union faction, Jens Spahn (CDU), also called on the Minister of Economics to act: “The tank discount, worth billions, seeps away and the traffic light is watching. Ordering the oil multinationals to report is the least that Economics Minister Habeck can do.”
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) warned against “hasty judgments”. It is not yet possible to say whether particularly high profits will be made by the mineral oil companies, he told the news portal T-Online. It is the task of the Cartel Office to check that the corporations are not exploiting their market power. Several factors determined the price at the pump – for example the development on the world markets, but also the availability of refinery capacities. There are not very many of them in Germany. “We simply don’t know what the fuel price would be if the energy tax were levied in full. In any case, higher,” said Lindner in the interview published on Saturday.
After the drop in price as a result of the tax cut on Wednesday last week, fuel has become significantly more expensive again. A liter of diesel is now only 3.2 cents cheaper than the day before the tax was reduced by 16.7 cents. According to ADAC information from Friday, Super E10 is 20.9 cents – with a tax reduction of 35.2 cents. “If you factor out the tax cut, the price at the gas station has risen more than the price of crude oil since the end of May. Of course, that raises questions,” said the President of the Bundeskartellamt, Andreas Mundt.
SPD leader Esken emphasized that the tax rebate on fuel will cost taxpayers around three billion euros. “The fact that the mineral oil companies are not now passing on this price reduction in full to the consumer stinks to high heaven.” The Cartel Office must intervene. Esken also thinks a temporary speed limit and Sunday driving bans are conceivable. In the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” she referred to the Energy Security Act. It allows the government to order such temporary measures.
Left faction leader Dietmar Bartsch rejected driving bans. “Robert Habeck should summon the mineral oil companies to the fuel summit and strictly control the prices from now on,” he told the editorial network Germany (RND). Instead of a driving ban, which hits the citizens, there is a need for maximum state prices at the pumps at times. “Competition can take place underneath, in favor of the consumer and at the expense of the profits of the mineral oil companies.” Bartsch emphasized: “The tank discount failed and a mega bankruptcy for the traffic light. There is a complete market failure, so the state must intervene.”
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing emphasized on Deutschlandfunk that the Federal Cartel Office has a duty to examine any profit-taking. The FDP politician ruled out changes to the tank discount or even abolition. There was a legislative process for reducing the energy tax on fuels. Therefore, the regulation cannot be changed at short notice.
The gas station interest group TIV accused the mineral oil companies of inflating their own profits. The tax rebate decided by the federal government was largely neutralized in advance through higher prices. The mineral oil industry association MWV rejected this again. Managing Director Christian Küchen referred to higher procurement costs on Deutschlandfunk.
