BRUSSELS — The European Commission’s economy chief on Thursday gave his blessing to EU countries seeking to introduce a windfall tax on energy companies that are profiting from skyrocketing fuel prices.
“There is nothing preventing member states from applying this,” Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told MEPs during a hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels. “We are looking into whether we can come up with some kind of more coordinated approach at the European level. It’s currently being assessed.”
Dombrovskis’ remarks come after Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain issued a letter to the Commission, calling on Brussels to ensure that unexpected profits stemming from the Middle East crisis are distributed fairly. EU citizens and businesses are already suffering from spiking fuel prices after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which cargo ships carry 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
This wouldn’t be the first time that EU capitals have raided the profits of energy companies to ease economic pain. The EU introduced a temporary windfall tax in the wake of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which also led to prices soaring.
