Merz announces fuel tax relief

Germany is planning a temporary cut in fuel taxes after talks between coalition party leaders.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that the government will reduce energy taxes on diesel and petrol by about 17 cents per liter for two months.

Speaking on Monday morning, Merz said relief should be given to consumers by oil companies to ease the pressure of rising prices.

“This will improve the situation for motorists and businesses in the country very quickly,” Merz said.

German pump prices have surged in recent weeks after fighting in Iran blocked most oil tanker routes through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

“This conflict, this war, is the real cause of the problems we have in our own country,” said Merz of the conservative Christian Democrats. The Chancellor said that he and Foreign Minister Johan Wadefull were making every possible effort towards ending the war.

The announcement came after a meeting with Markus Söder, head of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union, and centre-left Social Democrat co-leaders Lars Klingbeil and Barbel Baas.

good day From the DW newsroom in Bonn.

Join us as Germany’s ruling coalition prepares to tell us the results of a meeting of party leaders from the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the center-left Social Democrats.

The talks have focused on the energy price crisis – a topic that has seen open disagreements between the economy and finance ministers – and the coalition’s upcoming reform programme.

In other news, German retailers warned that strict data protection rules are hindering efforts to tackle shoplifting.

We will also monitor the impact of the strike by pilots at national carrier Lufthansa.

For these stories and more. Stay tuned for more on these and other stories from Germany.