European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis announced in Luxembourg on Friday 9 October that a “working group” would be set up to examine the possibility of taxing at EU level the windfall profits energy companies are making as a result of the price surge caused by the Israeli-American war against Iran.
According to Mr Dombrovskis, the group’s aim will be to “share best practice and assist Member States”. The Commissioner nevertheless reiterated the European Commission’s position that Member States are “best placed” to take action in this area.
According to our information, the working group would include representatives of the Commission and the Council of the EU, although its exact composition is still under discussion. No timetable has been announced for reporting the results of this work.
European Commissioner for Taxation, Wopke Hoekstra, who is leading on the matter also took the same line. He declined to say whether the European Commission would act before the in-depth discussion among European finance ministers – that had been requested by Germany and scheduled for Friday – had taken place. The good news, he noted, is that Member States can act at national level.
At the same time, Mr Hoekstra noted that some countries, such as Sweden, were “less enthusiastic” about an EU initiative. He also pointed out that the temporary solidarity contribution introduced at EU level in 2022 (see EUROPE 13033/1), during the inflationary shock caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, was still the subject of “legal battles”.
On Thursday, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, who had already joined several counterparts in signing two letters calling for EU action (see EUROPE 13922/11), again criticised the way that “refineries and oil companies are profiting from this crisis, while consumers ultimately foot the bill”. He went on to add: “Political leaders must act. We are doing so at national level, but I clearly expect the Commission to now put forward proposals to hold to account those people who are profiting from the crisis, namely oil companies”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)