Overview
- The coalition agreed late last week to extend the fuel relief until the end of August by cutting the mineral‑oil tax by 1.7 cents per liter and abandoning legally enforced margin limits for oil companies.
- The government added a mandatory pass‑through guarantee requiring petrol stations to lower pump prices when international wholesale prices fall.
- Opposition parties, the ÖAMTC motor club, and some consumer voices say the measure is too small, will largely benefit oil firms, and lacks the transparency needed to prove savings reach motorists.
- Business groups and market‑oriented coalition partners praised the move as a return to competition, arguing margin controls distort markets and are hard to enforce.
- In Germany, regional leaders are urging an extension of the larger 'tankrabatt' and the Bundeskartellamt has said it will continue investigating how fully past rebates were passed on to drivers.