Fuels: Portugal reduces excise duties, France launches controls and Hungary cuts prices

However, the percentage of increase to intervene is not specified, which was previously 2%. The rule also takes into account 'any decrease' in the average of the previous four months.

All this while the G-7 finance ministers said they were ready to take all necessary measures to support global energy supplies, including the release of strategic oil reserves, although the group is not yet ready to do so. "We will continue to closely monitor the situation and developments in energy markets and will meet as necessary to exchange information and coordinate within the G-7 and with international partners," the group said in a statement.

"We are ready to take the necessary measures, including support for global energy supply, such as the release of stocks." The G7 finance ministers held a virtual meeting on Monday 9 March to discuss the Middle East conflict, its impact on regional stability, global economic conditions and financial markets, and the importance of safe trade routes.

Stock releases are normally coordinated by the International Energy Agency, which participated in the G-7 discussion together with the heads of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. IEA Director Fatih Birol said after the meeting that the situation in Hormuz presents 'significant and growing' risks to the oil market.

The European Commission, based on the latest figures from May 2025, estimates that the EU countries hold a total of 43.5 million tonnes (one tonne is approximately 6.8 barrels) of strategic oil reserves. Italia holds 2.7 million strategic oil reserves; France 5.1 million, Germany 12.6 million. The US is expected to hold approximately 415 million barrels (Energy Department data); Canada has no obligations as a net exporter; Japan 260 million barrels (Bloomberg data).

As far as the UK is concerned, the rules indicate 90-day stocks. Strategic reserves are only a part of each country's total oil reserves, which for the G7 nations were between 250 and 260 billion barrels at the end of 2025, and were as follows: Canada 163.1 billion, US 83.72 billion, UK 1.5 billion, France 67.58 million, Germany 105.84 million, Italia 578 million, Japan 44.11 million.

In the meantime, someone has already deployed his strategy. Europe is moving in random order. Starting with Portugal. The Lisbon government has in fact decided to reduce the excise duty on diesel in view of the sharp rise in prices, the effects of which have reached Portuguese petrol stations. This is 'an extraordinary and temporary discount of the excise duty on petroleum products (Isp) applicable to diesel for motor vehicles equal to 3.55 cents per litre, returning to taxpayers the additional VAT revenue corresponding to the expected price increase,' reads a statement. The Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, recalled that he had already announced the measure a few days ago.

This measure was confirmed in view of the price increase this week of 23.4 cents per litre for diesel and 7.4 cents per litre for petrol. Montenegro spoke from the Spanish city of Huelva, where the Spain-Portugal bilateral summit was held on Friday last week, and did not rule out measures at Iberian level. 'In the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor this effect with measures at national level and, possibly, in cooperation with friendly countries, first and foremost Spain,' he said.

On Sunday 8 March in France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on radio X an 'exceptional plan of 500 controls' at petrol stations, 'between tomorrow (Monday 9 March, ed.) and Wednesday (11 March, ed.)', to prevent 'excessive price increases at the pump. The war in the Middle East cannot be used as a pretext for excessive price increases at petrol stations,' the prime minister explained, pointing out that these three days of controls will be carried out by the Directorate General for Fraud Repression (Dgccrf). The government announced on Friday that the price of SP95-E10, the most widely used petrol in France, had increased by 10 cents compared to the previous week, before the start of the war in the Middle East.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker (Övp) spoke out in favour of a temporary reduction of fuel excise duties in light of the volatile situation on the energy markets related to the Iran conflict. The government in Vienna is currently intensively examining and negotiating which model of relief would be most effective, Stocker said. The details of the planned measure are not yet known. Personally, Stocker supports a temporary reduction of fuel excise duties.

The Hungarian government has moved to limit fuel prices to protect private consumers and businesses from rising crude oil prices and announced that it will release state reserves to secure supply. Outlining the strategy was Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday 9 March in a video posted on Facebook. The cap on fuel prices was triggered on Friday 10 March. "In order to curb soaring fuel prices, we are introducing a protected price as of midnight for all Hungarian households and businesses," Orban announced on X. The price of petrol is limited to 595 forints ($1.75) per litre and that of diesel to 615 forints ($1.81) per litre. The limit applies to vehicles registered in Hungary.