Temporary restrictions will be introduced in Slovakia on the amount of diesel fuel that can be occasionally refueled and on its export, and different price levels will be set for Slovak and foreign cars, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced after the government meeting in Bratislava on Wednesday.
The cabinet adopted the decision on Wednesday, reports Hirado, in connection with the oil emergency introduced in the country a few weeks ago. The move is also in response to official statements that supply problems have arisen in the northern regions of the country due to significant fuel shopping tourism by Poles.
“A situation has arisen where dozens of gas stations in the north of Slovakia have literally dried up because prices are significantly lower compared to Poland. (…) This has resulted in instability, and that is why we have made the decision on restrictions, which is relatively extreme, but there is probably no other solution in this situation, when Mr. Zelensky is so helpful to us,” Robert Fico said in connection with the decision, as quoted by the Slovak public service news agency TASR.
Poland itself has also faced fuel tourism by Germany, with one mayor warning that Germans crossing the border to fill up their tanks are causing shortages.
Robert Fico also announced that he will not vote on the resolution concerning Ukraine at the EU summit starting in Brussels on Thursday, as it will likely omit the mention of the urgent need to resolve the problems related to the Friendship (Druzhba) oil pipeline.
The Slovakian government introduced an oil emergency in February, after the supply of oil through the Friendship pipeline was halted in January, which the Ukrainian side has refused to restart since then, although Slovak and Hungarian experts believe that the supply is technically possible. Following the introduction of the oil emergency, the country’s state reserve fund began to meet the needs of the Bratislava oil refinery.
The cornerstone of the diesel fuel restriction is that, once it is introduced, its export from the country will be restricted, and at gas stations, people will only be allowed to refuel their car’s fuel tank, plus a maximum 10-liter tank.
Under the measure, gas stations will apply different price levels for diesel for cars registered in Slovakia and abroad. In the case of the latter, the price of diesel will be calculated from the current average of Austrian, Czech and Polish prices.
According to the government, the restriction on diesel fuel will come into effect after the resolution is published in the legislative body, which is likely to be on Thursday or Friday, and will be in effect for 30 days, with the cabinet considering the possibility of extending the measure.
The post Slovakia restricts diesel fuel in face of soaring prices, fuel tourism appeared first on Remix News.
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