The measures announced by the Polish government to reduce fuel prices for consumers, in the context of price increases caused by the war in the Middle East, came into force on Monday, EFE reports.

The package of measures, which will be in force at least until the end of this month, includes a reduction in VAT on diesel and gasoline, from 23% to 8%, and the introduction of a maximum daily price for fuel set by the Ministry of Energy.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday that, thanks to these measures, fuel prices have fallen by about 10%, even though, for the state, the costs amount to about 500 million zlotys (about 116 million euros).

“From today until the end of the holidays, there will be reduced VAT on fuels and regulated prices,” Donald Tusk wrote on the X network. The prices could have been even lower, and the measure could remain in force until the end of the year, the Polish prime minister added, if President Karol Nawrocki, with whom Tusk has significant differences, “had not been on the side of the oil companies,” the prime minister claimed, according to Agerpres.

The government led by Tusk tried to introduce a tax on the exceptional profits of oil companies, which according to its own calculations, would have brought about four billion zlotys (928 million euros) to the budget to finance the cost of subsidies. However, President Nawrocki rejected the bill, arguing that it would trigger a price spiral, as the companies would transfer the additional costs to consumers.

The Polish government also implemented similar measures between March and June to reduce the cost of gasoline and diesel, which at the time cost the state approximately 4.7 billion zlotys (1.091 billion euros).