The Federal Cartel Office intends to investigate how fuel prices in Germany are determined, but two of the twelve oil companies involved are refusing to release the necessary data. The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court announced on Friday that two oil companies had filed appeals against the Cartel Office’s orders requiring the disclosure of information. One of the companies also filed an urgent application seeking to grant the appeal suspensive effect. The court could not yet say when a decision on the matter would be reached.
In response to the sharp rise in fuel prices following the outbreak of the war involving Iran, the German government amended antitrust laws to grant competition authorities greater oversight powers. They are no longer required to prove that prices are excessive; instead, the onus is on oil companies to justify them.
Acting on this basis, the Federal Cartel Office in Bonn sent requests for information to all twelve owners of German refineries in early April. According to the authority, the companies must provide specific details regarding the primary factors influencing their pricing decisions and how the current crisis is affecting their prices. Furthermore, they are required to disclose information about their corporate structures and specify exactly where responsibility lies within the group for crude oil procurement and the distribution of diesel and gasoline.
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A spokesperson for the Federal Cartel Office announced on Friday that the agency is conducting “intensive investigative measures.” In addition to requests for information sent to the companies, it has also recently initiated a survey of service stations.
However, two of the twelve companies behind German refineries have sought urgent legal relief from the Higher Regional Court (OLG) to challenge the orders requiring them to provide information. Neither the Cartel Office nor the court would disclose the names of these companies.
The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf stated that the appeals filed by the oil companies against the information orders had been received “only recently.” Consequently, no date has yet been set for an oral hearing.
The Bild newspaper was the first to report the story. Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) told the paper: “The Federal Cartel Office must receive the necessary information about markets promptly in order to protect consumers.”
Sören Pellmann, parliamentary group leader for The Left party, accused the government of failing to equip the Cartel Office with sufficient powers or ensure legal certainty. Consequently, the corporations faced no risk of repercussions. “While oil companies have been ripping people off and shamelessly enriching themselves for months, the federal government is making itself their accomplice,” Pellmann told the news agency AFP.
The Left politician demanded that the corporations be “kept in check through tough laws.” In his view, an effective measure would be a profit-margin cap combined with a windfall tax.
Author: AFP – ilo/oer – Translated by Blackout News
Sources: AFP Press Portal