“The current situation must not be exploited to make money,” said Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP) after ongoing discussions and an exchange of experts on Friday, because the falling oil price is not reflected quickly enough at the gas stations.
According to the minister, the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) must immediately initiate a thorough examination of the mineral oil industry. For this, even the funds of the BWB to illuminate the intermediate trade prices are increased. The competition commission consists of eight experts (social partners, science and officials).
The Verkehrsclub Österreich (VCÖ) had analyzed the current fuel prices on the basis of data from the EU Commission. Result: In no other EU country has the price of Eurosup risen as much as in Austria since the end of February. According to the VCÖ, diesel prices in Austria have risen the second highest (50 cents per liter since the end of February) in the entire EU. “It is incomprehensible why prices have risen so much more in this country. All the more so since the taxes on fuel in Austria are lower than the EU average,” said Lina Mosshammer from the traffic club. Schramböck, on the other hand, has so far argued that fuel prices in Austria are “in line with Europe”.
When does behavior change?
The OÖ Nachrichten addressed the question of whether the high fuel prices are already causing Austrians to change their behavior. But they don’t do that in the short term, said JKU economics professor Martin Halla. Studies have shown that price elasticity in this country is low, meaning that price changes for fuel in Austria only have a minor impact on demand. Whether a fuel price of two euros per liter will bring a decisive change in behavior, “I dare to doubt. The decisive factor is the alternative.” And that is often not the case in the short term.
For ÖAMTC expert Nikola Junick, the relevant question is whether there is an alternative to the car. Many people are simply dependent on cars and have no attractive alternatives. To do this, you would have to tackle the following: make carpooling more interesting (tax breaks, bus lanes), more competition in mobility offers, microbuses and call taxis in rural areas instead of empty diesel buses. (uru/ika)
Source: Nachrichten
