00:01The war in Iran might seem far away, but its oil is not.
00:05For European drivers, the pain at the pump is very real,
00:09with some countries seeing price spikes of over 30%.
00:12So if you are curious how European governments are stepping in to help,
00:17let's look at different strategies together.
00:22Spain went big, rolling out a 5 billion euro package
00:26and slashing VAT on motor fuels from 21% down to 10%.
00:31And Madrid claims this will reduce petrol prices by around 30 euro cents per litre.
00:36And Poland followed with fuel VAT dropping from 23% to just 8,
00:41saving drivers roughly the equivalent of 30 euro cents.
00:45Crucially, Warsaw is also introducing price controls.
00:49Hungary also opted for strict price controls capping fuel prices.
00:53But there is a catch, it only applies to vehicles with Hungarian number plates
00:58to stop cross-border fuel tourism.
01:01And Germany and Austria are taking a regulatory route.
01:05Berlin is pushing a rule allowing petrol stations to rise prices only once a day at noon,
01:11while Vienna limits hikes to three times a week.
01:14And in France, the state has avoided massive tax cuts,
01:18relying instead on corporate giants like Total Energies to voluntary cap prices.
01:23So who would actually benefit?
01:26Well, European citizens could, providing oil companies do not simply absorb the tax differences.
01:32And Italy, for instance, is already threatening to sanction companies trying to inflate margins.
01:38And you see, for European politicians, spending public money is an expensive move.
01:43But there is almost no public appetite to join the US and Israel in active conflict.
01:48And your reporter saw this pushback at the recent G7 summit.
01:52Despite Washington's pressure to immediately secure the Strait of Hormuz,
01:57Europe offered a firm reality check.
01:59They will help protect the critical waterway, but only after the war in Iran ends.
02:05So until then, perhaps consider using a bike, huh, like Mark Rutter.
02:11In the future, they are working with the到了
02:13The first Windows v bit was preferred to change the safety of the Civil government,
02:14He ends the travesting the defendant, and the listener never until they fail in the noon part
02:15The time was even if you need an improved force to hit the Capitol,
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