After the end of the tank discount – German fuel prices second highest in Europe

With the expiry of the tank discount, motorists will have to pay significantly more at German petrol pumps than in all of the direct EU neighboring countries. The fuel prices in this country are the second highest in Europe. As the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" reports, according to a recent evaluation, Germany is in second place in the EU comparison for both diesel prices (last 2.16 euros per liter) and petrol (last 2.07 euros per liter). Diesel was only more expensive in Sweden, petrol in Finland.

The newspaper had an analysis of data from the EU Commission, which the Federal Statistical Office transmitted at the request of the left in the Bundestag. The figures were as of September 5th.

The evaluation also shows that fuel prices in Germany are around 25 cents above the EU average. In August, Germany was still in the middle of the field when it came to petrol and diesel prices. The reason for this was the tank discount, which expired at the end of August.

With the tank rebate, the government reduced the energy tax on fuel from the beginning of June to the end of August. Including VAT, the saving was 35.16 cents for petrol and 16.71 cents for diesel. According to statistics, before the introduction of the discount on May 30, premium petrol E5 was more expensive than in Germany in only two neighboring countries – Denmark and the Netherlands. A liter cost 2.21 euros at the time, which is significantly more than on September 5th.

Against this background, the left-wing social politician Sören Pellmann sharply criticized the government and spoke of a “political failure of the traffic light”. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced in the spring that he wanted to take action against the fuel cartel. Since then, "zero point zero" has happened, Pellmann told the "NOZ".

In view of the expected additional profits for the oil companies this year, he said the government must "skim off this money and permanently stop self-service at the expense of commuters". In neighboring France, fuel prices are around 40 cents lower. “That is the yardstick for the federal government.”