On April 1, Poland introduced state price caps on gasoline and diesel fuel, simultaneously reducing VAT on fuel from 23% to 8%, and lowering the energy tax to the minimum level permitted in the EU. These measures were part of the government’s anti-crisis intervention amid rising energy prices caused by the geopolitical situation.
The Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung (BGL), representing the interests of German road haulers, harshly criticized these Polish measures. The association believes that such Polish measures could seriously distort competition in the European transport market. According to BGL’s calculations, the net price of diesel fuel in Poland is currently approximately €0.29 per liter lower than in Germany.
For transport companies, this represents significant additional costs. With an average mileage of 10,000 km per month and fuel consumption of 30 liters per 100 km, the additional costs amount to approximately €870 per truck. For a fleet of 50 vehicles, this amounts to more than €500,000 per year. Germany’s CO₂ emissions pricing system has come under particular criticism, adding an additional €0.17–0.20 per liter to road tolls and the price of diesel fuel starting in late 2023. Similar offsetting measures have not yet been introduced in Germany.