Six European Union countries want the 27-nation EU to discuss in September a mechanism to tax windfall profits of oil companies triggered by Iran‘s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a letter by their finance ministers showed on Monday.
In a letter to Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Austria are asking the presidency to put the issue on the agenda of the next EU finance ministers’ meeting in Dublin on September 18 to 19.
“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,” the six finance ministers wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters. “Government measures taken so far have not been sufficient to reduce or stabilize prices for businesses and citizens on a permanent basis. This is why we need a common approach,” they said.
Oil prices have risen about 25% from levels at the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, while prices of refined products surged more – European diesel prices rose more than 70% since the war began, while gasoline prices have climbed around 20%.
“To this end, we need to address the matter of high energy prices by discussing an EU-wide framework to tax windfall profits, taking into account lessons learned in 2022,” the letter said.
