The German government currently has no plans for new measures to address high fuel prices, Federal Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) has said. She pointed to the tight state of the federal budget: "We used a very, very expensive instrument with the fuel price brake. That cost us many billions of euros," she told broadcasters RTL and ntv. "Those funds are simply not available in the federal budget at the moment."
In early May, the German government had cut taxes on petrol and diesel by a combined total of nearly 17 cents per litre in response to fuel prices that had risen sharply amid the Iran war. However, the so-called tank rebate expired at the end of June. Prices at the pump then rose significantly, compounded by renewed fighting around the Persian Gulf. Fuel prices across Germany have since climbed back to well above two euros per litre on average.
SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf also firmly rejected relaunching the tank rebate. "Letting the market run its course, watching corporations book additional profits, and having the state subsidise those losing out in the market, that can no longer be a path for the SPD going forward," he told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung." The expectation that the state can offset every market failure with taxpayer money is "unfulfillable," he said.
Klüssendorf did, however, come out in favour of a price cap modelled on Luxembourg and Belgium. "There, a maximum price is set in dialogue with industry." That works, he explained, because the authorities have insight into value chains and profits. "In order to secure affordable living costs, what we need, instead of market radicalism, are finally decisive regulatory solutions," he demanded.
Following the expiry of the tank rebate, several German states and SPD politicians had pushed for a state-set price cap. However, a corresponding initiative failed in the Bundesrat. Reiche likewise rejects such a measure. This, too, would cost the state billions, she said, because "the world market doesn't respond just because Germany imposes a cap," she told RTL and ntv.
The federal government has introduced the "12 o'clock rule" for petrol station price adjustments and tightened competition law, she explained, which ensures greater transparency for customers. "There are currently no further measures under consideration, and none are actually planned." The supply situation is secure, she added, and there are no shortages.
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