The Council of Ministers has approved the extension of the cut in excise duties on petrol and diesel until 1 May 2026. The intervention, designed to mitigate the energy emergency and protect the purchasing power of families, also includes specific measures for the agricultural sector and exporting companies. The Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, explained that the allocation necessary for the extension amounts to 500 million euros, recovered from the proceeds of the CO2 auctions of the ETS system, without affecting the funds allocated to energy consumers.
Concrete savings, but still high prices
Despite the tax discount, the prices at the pump remain critical: diesel exceeds 2.1 euros per liter on average in many regions, with peaks in Bolzano (2.134), Calabria (2.116), Friuli Venezia Giulia (2.113) and Lombardy (2.108). Petrol remains lower, around 1.767 euros per litre.
Prices are lower on the motorways, thanks to the agreement between Aiscat and the MIT, but elsewhere the increases continue, with significant daily increases for example in Calabria and Trento. For a 50 liter tank of diesel, the extension guarantees a saving of around 12.2 euros, but consumers report that the effect on the family budget remains limited.
Criticism from consumer associations
Codacons underlined that the discount needed to be strengthened because it was now canceled out by the continuous increases, while the National Consumers Union spoke of an insufficient cut on diesel, highlighting the disparity compared to petrol. Massimiliano Dona, president of the UNC, defined the measure as “inadequate” and suggested more flexible alternatives, such as slightly reducing the discount on petrol to concentrate aid on diesel, whose average price remains above 2.1 euros per liter in much of the country.
The extension of the discount on excise duties therefore represents a temporary stopgap, useful for limiting the impact of record fuel prices, but consumer associations insist on the need for a more incisive and targeted intervention, especially for diesel, the true protagonist of the economic dispute of recent weeks.
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