Six EU countries push for windfall tax on oil companies

Published on

23/08/2026 - 8:10 GMT+2

Six EU countries are intensifying calls for a bloc-wide windfall tax on oil companies as profits surge amid the war in the Middle East, according to a draft letter seen by AFP on Saturday.

The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, and Portugal, along with Spain's economy minister, sent a joint letter to Ireland's finance minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. The ministers urged that a levy be added to the agenda for next month's meeting of EU finance chiefs in Dublin.

"Oil companies are enjoying overall profitability and margins on refined products that exceed the rise in crude oil prices," the letter stated. "We are experiencing one of the biggest supply shocks in decades, and all over the world, there is growing discontent about the rise in the cost of living."