Brussels authorises Slovenia to cut fuel excise duty for six months

The Council of the European Union has authorised Slovenia to apply reduced rates of excise duty to unleaded petrol and gas oil used as motor fuels, through Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2551 of 9 November 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series, 13 November 2026). The authorisation lets the country apply rates up to EUR 0.2195 per litre below the EU minimum for unleaded petrol and up to EUR 0.225 per litre for gas oil. It is valid for six months from the date of notification of the decision.

The instrument rests on Article 19 of Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51), which allows time-limited derogations from the Union’s minimum levels of taxation. According to the recitals, the Slovenian authorities requested the authorisation by letters dated 31 July 2026 and 21 August 2026, and asked for it to run for a period of six months.

The ceilings authorised

Article 1 of the decision sets the margins Slovenia may apply below the minimum levels referred to in Article 7 of Directive 2003/96/EC:

• Unleaded petrol used as motor fuel: a reduction of up to EUR 0.2195 per litre.
• Gas oil used as motor fuel: a reduction of up to EUR 0.225 per litre.
• Duration: six months from the date of notification, with application starting on that same date.
• Addressee: the Republic of Slovenia.

The energy shock behind the request

The recitals state that in the weeks preceding the adoption, geopolitical developments in the Middle East affected global supply chains of oil and oil products and triggered sharp and persistent increases in wholesale and retail energy prices. Those increases, the Council notes, have had significant adverse effects on households, in particular vulnerable consumers, and on undertakings including small and medium-sized enterprises, posing a serious risk to social cohesion, economic stability and the proper functioning of the internal market.

The decision also invokes the conclusions of the European Council of 19 March 2026, which recognised the extraordinary nature of the situation in the energy market and invited the European Commission to work closely with member states on national temporary and targeted measures, underlining the need for a coordinated response. The Commission reviewed the Slovenian request and considered it unlikely to hinder the proper functioning of the internal market, judging the derogation adequate and proportionate given its short duration and the exceptionally high market price of oil.

Strict time limits and an exit clause

The Council stresses that authorisations under Article 19 of Directive 2003/96/EC must be strictly limited in time, arguing that untargeted tax reductions imply significant fiscal costs and tend to increase demand for fossil fuel, worsening the imbalance between supply and demand. The text also recalls that the decision is without prejudice to the application of Union rules on State aid.

Article 2 adds an early termination clause: should the Council introduce, on the basis of Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other relevant provision, new minimum levels of taxation for these fuels to which the authorisation would not be adapted, the decision ceases to apply on the date those new minimum levels become applicable. The decision was done at Brussels on 9 November 2026 and signed for the Council by its President, S. Harris.

The relief is designed to reach end users directly, since excise duties feed into the final cost of energy products supplied in the Union and a cut below minimum levels lowers pump prices. For Slovenian households, small businesses and road hauliers, the measure offers a temporary cushion against fuel costs for the coming six months, but no longer: the authorisation expires automatically and does not pre-empt any future revision of the EU energy taxation framework.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 13 November 2026, 2026/2551 (official reference: Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2551).