Overview
- On Thursday the Union and SPD parliamentary groups decided after lengthy talks that the temporary reduction of the energy tax on petrol and diesel will run out as planned on June 30 and will not be extended.
- Consumer groups and the ADAC warn that the end of the roughly 14.04‑cent tax cut (about 17 cents with VAT) is likely to feed through quickly to pump prices, adding around €8–9 to a 50‑litre fill.
- The two‑month measure cost the federal budget about €1.6 billion and critics say it was poorly targeted because heavy fuel users benefited most while some of the state-funded relief was kept by oil companies, an Ifo analysis suggests and industry disputes.
- Regulatory changes are complicating price moves: the April 12:00 rule that limits price rises to one midday increase has coincided with record intraday swings of up to 14.6 cents for Super E10 and 18.4 cents for diesel, raising concern about rapid midday hikes once the rebate ends.
- Coalition leaders say they will watch prices after July 1 and can act quickly with narrowly targeted measures—options discussed include targeted cash support, commuter relief, stricter competition enforcement and an excess‑profit tax—yet no concrete replacement has been announced.