Energy Minister: There Is No Money to Bring Back the CPN Fuel Program

Poland’s fuel-price support program will not return for now because the government says it has no money left to finance it.

Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka said the CPN scheme, whose name stands for “Lower Fuel Prices,” had already cost more than 5 billion złoty. He described that spending as an enormous burden on a budget also funding investment, security and record defense outlays.

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There are no funds for it in the budget today.

The package began at the end of March after oil prices rose sharply amid the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which the article says began on Feb. 28. It reduced VAT on some fuels, mainly gasoline and diesel, set maximum prices at service stations and temporarily cut fuel excise duty. The excise reduction lasted until mid-June, while the broader program ran through the end of June and returned for the final two weeks of the summer holiday period.

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Poles spent more than 5 billion złoty on this mechanism, because it is the budget of all Poles.

When the measures ended, fuel prices jumped. The price of Pb95 gasoline rose by about 1 złoty. Motyka said analysts expected the price trend to continue, but added that market conditions were too volatile for forecasts beyond a few days.

He said the only prospect for restoring CPN would be a windfall-profits tax on fuel companies. Motyka criticized President Karol Nawrocki for blocking the legislation, saying the president had sided with oil companies. He also pointed to a similar measure adopted by Poland’s Law and Justice government in 2022 and cited Donald Trump’s view that energy companies should share excess profits with citizens.

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No one in Poland decided this war.