The European Union is witnessing growing fuel chaos as a temporary ceasefire in the Iran conflict, and the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz briefly eased global oil markets, sending Brent crude prices tumbling from $105 to around $96 a barrel on april 7.
But it remains unclear how long, or if, this reprieve will translate into relief at the pump for ordinary Europeans.
In Ireland, today marks the third day of rolling farmer protests against rising fuel costs, with demonstrators targeting critical infrastructure, including fuel depots.
Protesters are demanding price caps on petrol and diesel and the abolition of carbon and fuel taxes, saying current measures do not go far enough to mitigate the cost squeeze.
Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan has announced that the Gardaí, or police, have requested the Army’s assistance to remove protesters, warning that those obstructing fuel distribution cannot complain if their vehicles are damaged during enforcement.
Meanwhile, Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Ray McAdam, decried the protests as an unfair strain on the city’s public services, although he acknowledged the widespread frustration over rocketing fuel costs.
This frustration is not limited to Ireland. Recently, employees at the French energy giant TotalEnergies threatened to strike, claiming that the very products they help distribute have made daily living unaffordable.
And yet European governments are turning fuel scarcity into a cash cow.
In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)-led coalition has refused to lower fuel taxes, even as citizens are forced to pay up to €2.50 per litre for diesel and €2.19 for petrol.
According to Bild reports today, citing an analysis by the independent economic research institute and think-tank RWI’s Environment and Resources unit, VAT increases have added about €12 million per day to state coffers, totalling over €360 million in a single month.
German newspapers reported earlier in April that economy minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) has rejected calls for government tax breaks at gas stations and a speed limit. “Prices at the pumps haven’t fallen” in the countries that implemented tax cuts, she said.
At the same time, fuel stations exploit regulatory loopholes.
Despite Germany’s new rule limiting fuel retailers to only one price hike per day, petrol stations have simply bunched their increases into a single, larger jump, raising both diesel and petrol prices by more than 7 cents per litre at once, leaving drivers no relief while profits keep flowing to the companies.
Meanwhile, some corporate profits reached new heights.
TotalEnergies reportedly made $1 billion in March alone, betting on surging crude oil prices while Europe’s public paid the cost.
The company acquired barrels of crude from the United Arab Emirates and Oman, more than doubling the previous month’s purchases.
Traders at its subsidiary Totsa turned this strategic bet into the “biggest trade ever made in the history of the oil markets”.
