Watch: EU governments are throwing billions at the petrol shock. Will it help?

Published on 31/03/2026 - 11:50 GMT+2

The Iran warfare whitethorn look acold away, but its lipid is not. For European drivers, the symptom astatine the pump is real, with immoderate countries seeing terms spikes of implicit 30%. So however are EU governments stepping successful to help? Let's look astatine the antithetic strategies together.

Spain went big, rolling retired a €5 cardinal bundle and slashing VAT connected centrifugal fuels from 21% down to 10%. Madrid claims this volition trim petrol prices by astir 30 eurocents per litre.

Poland followed, with substance VAT dropping from 23% to conscionable 8%, redeeming drivers astir 30 eurocents. Crucially, Warsaw is besides introducing terms controls.

Hungary opted for strict terms controls, capping substance prices. But determination is simply a catch: it lone applies to vehicles with Hungarian fig plates, aimed astatine stopping cross-border substance tourism.

Germany and Austria are taking a regulatory route. Berlin is pushing a regularisation that allows petrol stations to rise prices lone erstwhile a time astatine noon, portion Vienna limits terms hikes to 3 times a week.

And successful France, the authorities has avoided monolithic taxation cuts, relying alternatively connected firm giants similar TotalEnergies to voluntarily headdress prices.

So who would really benefit?

Well, European citizens could, provided lipid companies bash not simply sorb the taxation differences. Italy, for instance, is already threatening to enforce sanctions connected companies trying to inflate their margins.

For European politicians, spending nationalist wealth is an costly move. But determination is astir nary nationalist appetite to articulation the US and Israel successful progressive conflict.

And your newsman saw this pushback astatine the caller G7 summit. Despite Washington's unit to unafraid the Strait of Hormuz immediately, Europe offered a steadfast world check: they volition assistance support the captious waterway, but lone aft the warfare successful Iran ends.

Until then, possibly see utilizing a bike, similar Mark Rutte?

Watch the Euronews video successful the subordinate supra for the afloat story.