The
Federal Government because of inconsistencies rapidly rising gasoline prices in Germany tighten antitrust law. Among other things, it is planned that oil companies will have to justify a price increase in advance. In addition, a new rule will apply according to which gas stations are only allowed to increase their prices once a day – at 12 p.m. A federal government spokesman said the ministries had already voted on the draft law on Sunday.
Specifically, the federal government wants to strengthen oversight of abuse in the fuel sector. That’s how it should be Federal Cartel Office In the future, it will be easier to take action against companies that dominate the market if there is evidence of unreasonably high prices. In addition, the process should be accelerated in order to identify and remedy structural disruptions to competition. The ability of the cartel office to act should be strengthened.
According to the draft law, the burden of proof should also be reversed: companies would have to demonstrate that their price increases were objectively justified. That would be it Antitrust authorities make it much easier to take action against excessive prices. Regulations in the electricity and gas markets serve as models.
Cartel Office wants to prevent “rip-offs” by oil companies
The planned changes were triggered by exceptionally high gasoline price increases in Germany as a result of the Iran War.
Politicians had accused oil companies of “rip-offs” at gas stations.
The federal government therefore set up a task force. Economics Minister Katherina Reiche had already announced that gas stations would increase prices – as is usual in Austria. can only be increased once a day. Price reductions should still be possible at any time. Violations could be punished with fines of up to 100,000 euros, the dpa news agency learned from government circles.
According to current planning, the new law is still to come Easter grab. But it should be valid for a limited time. The federal states should be responsible for enforcement. The approval of the Federal Council is not required for changes to antitrust law. According to the spokesman, after the summer the federal government wants to examine “the effectiveness and effects in practice”.
German fuel prices have increased the most compared to the EU
Because of that
Iran War The Strait of Hormuz, an important strait for global oil shipping traffic, is virtually blocked. This drives up oil prices and accordingly also prices Gas station up. In Germany, fuel prices have risen particularly sharply, the Monopolies Commission warned in its most recent report Report from March 12th. Accordingly, Germany is the leader in price increases in a comparison of the 27 EU countries.
On Monday, the task force set up by the coalition will discuss the situation again. In addition to the President of the Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt, representatives of oil companies are also expected.
“If the competition no longer works fairly, the state is not allowed to watch – it has to intervene,” said Union parliamentary group vice-president Sepp Müller (CDU) to the AFP news agency. SPD parliamentary group deputy Armand Zorn also welcomed a tightening of antitrust law “so that oil companies do not increase their profits during crises at the expense of consumers.”