Merz promises you relief as petrol hits 2.29 euros
Petrol and diesel reached new highs this week. A litre of E10 cost an average of 2.286 euros on Monday, according to the ADAC, about one cent more than on Sunday and a record. Diesel stood at 2.412 euros, a few cents below its own record. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a trade association event in Berlin that a limit had been reached for many people who need a car every day, and that the government must act.
What he did not say is how. The chancellor said the exact instrument had not been settled, that the federal government was in close contact with the states, and that a proposal would come very soon. Nothing has been decided and no date has been given. One option he ruled out is a windfall tax on oil company profits, which the finance minister has been pushing: Merz said he saw neither a factual nor a legal basis for it, and noted that only companies based in Germany could be taxed at all.
The measures on the table come from different directions. The economics minister wants targeted direct payments to lower-income groups rather than a price cap, and has signalled openness to cutting energy taxes. The finance minister wants a fuel price cap of the kind used in Belgium and Luxembourg, a windfall tax on crisis profits, and price transparency at the pump. Others in the governing party want the energy tax cut to the European minimum. A fuel rebate ran from early May to the end of June 2026 and cost the federal budget about 1.6 billion euros, and how much of it reached drivers is disputed.
For now nothing changes at the pump. If you drive every day, the practical steps are the ordinary ones: compare prices before you fill up, since they are usually lowest in the evening, and keep your receipts if you claim the commuter allowance, which is one of the levers under discussion. Watch for the government's proposal in the coming days. Until it is agreed with the states, no relief takes effect.