The ministers of Economy and Finance of Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal, and Poland have formally requested the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to incorporate into the community agenda a debate among Twenty-Seven on the creation of a tax on the profits of oil companies linked to the war in Iran, coinciding with the upcoming informal ECOFIN meeting scheduled for September 18 and 19 in Dublin.
According to the joint letter, sent by the Ministry of Economy to Europa Press, the economic heads of these six countries resume and reinforce the proposal launched in April, now with the participation of Poland, to establish a levy on the extraordinary profits that energy companies are recording due to the rise in fuel prices resulting from the conflict.
In the letter, dated Saturday, the ministers emphasize that large oil companies are obtaining "from a general profitability and margins on refined products that, while possibly influenced by the scarcity of specific products, exceed the increase in crude oil prices."
The signatories argue that, in their opinion, the actions taken so far by the member states "have not been sufficient to reduce or stabilize prices for businesses and citizens permanently," in a context of "growing discontent over the rising cost of living."
Therefore, they consider it essential "a common approach" within "a framework at the EU level" that allows taxing the extraordinary profits of the oil sector. Unlike the response in 2022 — when the European Union approved a 33% tax on the profits of fossil fuels as a temporary solidarity contribution due to the war in Ukraine — the ministers are now betting on "a more specific analysis of how the foreign profits of multinational oil companies can be included in a more selective manner."
Principle of subsidiarity and common mechanism
Specifically, the six countries demand to move towards "a common European mechanism capable of protecting the single market, while taking into account the diversity of national situations and their stakeholders, in addition to complying with the principle of subsidiarity."
In parallel, they ask to receive "as soon as possible" the conclusions of the European investigation on the profit margins of refineries "to ensure that refineries are not taking advantage of the current energy situation."
In the final part of the letter, the ministers urge the Irish Presidency of the European Council to incorporate this issue into the community agenda "as soon as possible, and ideally during the informal ECOFIN meeting that will be held on September 18 and 19 in Dublin," with the aim of opening a political debate at the EU level on the design of this new tax on oil companies.