Spain wants to bring to the whole of the European Union the debate on how to tax the extraordinary profits that oil companies are obtaining in the context of the war in Iran and the rising cost of fuels.
The economy ministers of Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal, and Poland have sent a letter to the Irish Presidency of the EU Council to request that the issue be included in the agenda of the next informal meeting of the Ecofin, which will take place on September 18 and 19 in Dublin.
A European tax on extraordinary profits
The six countries believe that the increase in energy prices is allowing oil companies to obtain margins that grow above the rising cost of crude oil.
In their proposal, they advocate studying a common mechanism at the European level that allows for more selective taxation of those extraordinary profits and avoids differences between countries that could affect the functioning of the single market.
The initiative thus revives a proposal that Spain and other governments had already raised in April and now expands the group of signing countries with the incorporation of Poland.
The countries ask to review refinery margins
The ministers also demand to know as soon as possible the results of the European investigation into the profit margins of refineries, with the aim of determining whether some companies are taking advantage of the current energy situation.
The goal would be to have common data before deciding what measures can be applied and to avoid uncoordinated national actions.
The precedent of the 2022 tax
The signatories take as a reference the response adopted by the EU in 2022, when a temporary contribution of 33% on the extraordinary profits of fossil fuel companies was established after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This time they propose a different and more selective formula, specifically focused on the profits of large oil companies and adapted to current circumstances.
The debate will reach the Ecofin in September
Spain and its partners want the discussion to take place as soon as possible and, preferably, during the informal meeting of the Ecofin on September 18 and 19.
The proposal does not yet imply the approval of a new European tax, but the start of a debate among the Twenty-Seven on a possible common mechanism to contain the impact of energy prices on companies and citizens.
The initiative adds to the measures adopted in Spain to alleviate the cost of fuels during the energy crisis, among them the temporary reduction of the special hydrocarbon tax.