Joint letter – Alternative solutions to fossil fuel tax cuts in the context of Ukraine’s war

In the context of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, 24 Civil society organisations are asking the European Commission to promote immediately alternative solutions to tax cuts and price caps in order to avoid supporting further fossil-fuel use. We call to engage with the Member States that have recently increased fossil fuel subsidies (introduced price caps, reduced excise duty on fuel, etc.) urging them to set a clear short-term deadline for ending these measures, and specifying that these are emergency, temporary measures. The avoided tax cuts will also ensure more public money is available that can be useful to compensate vulnerable households.

We invited the Commission to initiate the introduction of a tariff on Russian oil imports. EU countries could raise €27 billion this year from an import tariff of $25 a barrel on Russian oil. Russia’s oil industry would have to absorb the cost as they have no alternatives to selling on the European market in the short term.

Member States should be to start a wide-scale awareness-raising campaign without delay on energy savings and energy sufficiency, informing people about the enormous drawbacks of fossil fuel subsidies and asking drivers and companies to use their motor vehicles only if it is absolutely necessary until Putin ends its aggression against Ukraine.