Six EU countries want to discuss a windfall tax on oil companies — The Rio Times
Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Portugal and Spain want to bring the issue of a windfall tax on oil companies to an informal meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin next month. The initiative is set out in a letter that remains in draft status and has not yet been sent, The Rio Times reports.
According to the publication, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and Portugal are represented in the initiative by their finance ministers, while Spain is represented by its economy minister. The initiating countries link the proposal to rising profits of major energy companies following the start in February of US and Israeli operations against Iran, which they believe disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Unanimity is needed for the tax
Tax decisions at the EU level require the unanimous support of all 27 member states under Articles 113 and 115 of the EU Treaty. Therefore, the support of six countries is insufficient to adopt such a decision.
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Germany also lacks a unified position: the Social Democratic Party of Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil supports the tax, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union opposes it. The Rio Times notes that a similar solidarity contribution was applied by 16 EU states in 2022, while another seven used similar national measures. Spain, Hungary and the Czech Republic later abolished their mechanisms.
Droughts and floods in Europe
About 99% of Hungary's territory, according to the publication, is experiencing severe or extreme drought. Water levels in lakes and rivers have reached record lows, while desertification is described as a threat to the Great Hungarian Plain.
In Poland, storms and strong winds flooded homes, felled trees and caused more than 4,000 emergency service callouts by Saturday morning. Twelve scout camps were evacuated, and about 19,400 households were left without electricity. Heavy rains also caused flooding in the Italian regions of Liguria, Lombardy and Tuscany: about 350 people were evacuated near Bergamo, while 200 mm of precipitation fell on the Ligurian coast within 24 hours.
