Overview
- The government is debating how to ease fuel and energy costs, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked his economics and finance ministers to deliver joint proposals while rejecting a price cap and cautioning against supply risks.
- Brandenburg economics minister Martina Klement backed a temporary increase in the commuter allowance and said tax relief or a windfall tax on excess profits should remain on the table.
- Finance minister Lars Klingbeil set a meeting with business groups and unions for Friday and urged the European Commission to examine a windfall tax on crisis gains.
- The new “12 o’clock rule,” which limits gas stations to one price increase per day, has not lowered prices, and the antitrust chief pressed oil companies to pass falling crude costs to drivers.
- Critics say a higher commuter allowance pays out later through tax returns and offers little quick help for low income and rural drivers, while countries like Italy, Poland, Czechia, and Luxembourg have cut fuel taxes or capped pump prices.