Spain, Germany, Austria and Portugal ask Brussels for a tax on energy companies due to the war

BarcelonaThe First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, along with his counterparts from Germany, Italy, Austria, and Portugal, have sent a letter to the European Commission requesting the creation of a new tax on the profits of energy companies following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, which is increasing the price of oil, gas, and fuels.

“Ministers Markus Marterbauer, Joaquim Miranda Sarment, Lars Klingbeil, Giancarlo Giorgetti, and I ask the European Commission to explore a temporary solidarity instrument for energy companies to contribute with the extraordinary profits obtained during the war and to alleviate the burden on consumers and taxpayers,” indicates the Spanish Vice President in a letter addressed to the Commission.

The Economy chiefs of these five countries seek to mitigate the economic impact of rising oil prices. Furthermore, they insist that their objective is for the cost of the energy crisis to fall exclusively on “consumers and to curb inflation, without overburdening public budgets”.

“At the Eurogroup meeting on March 27, 2026, we defended and supported measures to tax the extraordinary profits of energy companies. A similar instrument was already introduced in 2022 through a temporary solidarity contribution established by Regulation (EU) 2022/1854, of October 6, 2010 on energy,” states the letter signed by the Economy ministers of Germany, Italy, Austria, Portugal, and Spain, Lars Klingbeil, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Markus Marterbauer, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and Carlos Cuerpo.

Given the current context of market volatility and fiscal constraints, the five ministers state that the European Commission “should rapidly develop a similar contribution instrument at the EU level, with a solid legal basis (and without prejudice to all other efforts and measures adopted by member states to address high energy prices)”.

In the text, the ministers emphasize the need to send a message of political unity in the face of the consequences of the war. In fact, they point out that a European solution of this type would serve as a signal to the citizens of our member states and to the economy in general, demonstrating unity and capacity for action within the European Union. Finally, in the letter, they indicate that the European Commission will address this measure with the utmost speed possible.