Green Concerns

Gas Prices: No Agreement on the “Brake”

Green Party leader Gewessler wanted to see the draft regulation from Stocker and Babler before deciding whether her party would approve it.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The necessary two-thirds majority to fully implement the planned measures to reduce fuel prices was still not achieved on Tuesday evening. The government intends to continue trying to convince the skeptical Greens of its plans. Negotiations will continue on Wednesday morning—time is running out...

Will the excess profits of refineries and gas stations now be capped due to the crisis, or not? This question likely preoccupied Austria’s government throughout Tuesday more than any other.

The Greens’ concerns
After all, as is well known, the three-party coalition needs the Greens’ approval to secure a two-thirds majority in the vote—but the Greens, for their part, wanted all the details laid out on the table before deciding whether to give their consent. Previously, the Greens described the government’s plans as a “disaster,” since it could not be ruled out “that the affected companies would neutralize the planned margin cap by raising prices in advance,” as budget spokesperson Jakob Schwarz explained.

These are objections the coalition would like to refute—but so far, the Greens are still holding back when it comes to giving their approval. Further talks are scheduled for Wednesday. To get the whole thing through Parliament on the same day, there may be a change to the National Council’s agenda.  

Green Party leader Gewessler wanted to see the draft regulation from Stocker and Babler before deciding on her party’s approval.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

ÖVP not entirely in agreement either
Criticism of the margin intervention also came from within the ÖVP’s own ranks—after all, market intervention is highly unusual for the pro-business party. For example, the president of the Burgenland Chamber of Commerce has no sympathy for this measure: “There is a CO2 tax and a mineral oil tax where one could start,” said Andreas Wirth, who is essentially calling for the Freedom Party’s model of a fuel price cap.

Also interesting is the statement from the Styrian state government led by the FPÖ. While the Freedom Party at the federal level criticizes the government’s measures as a “non-starter” and demands relief amounting to billions, the Styrians reject the loss of tax revenue that would result from the fuel price cap.