Baltics, Poland may ask Brussels to delay fuel price hikes - Lithuanian PM

VILNIUS - Lithuania, along with Latvia, Estonia, and Poland, plans to ask the European Commission to delay regulations set to "dramatically" raise the cost of fossil fuel-based fuels starting in 2028, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Wednesday.

"We're talking with the Baltic prime ministers, and Poland has also expressed interest and asked the European Commission to postpone the overhaul of the so-called emissions allowance system. This would lead to drastic fuel price hikes," he told reporters.

EU directives require a faster increase in the carbon dioxide (CO2) component for polluting fuels. Paluckas has previously said that, as a result, fuel prices would "dramatically rise" by 2029-2030.

In an open letter on Wednesday, more than 20 business organizations called for a review of the Lithuanian government's fuel excise policy, a pause on the excise hike planned for 2026, and an agreement with Poland, Latvia, and Estonia on aligning their policies.

Paluckas, for his part, said that the situation "isn’t as dramatic this year," and that the excise revenue plan is on track. However, he did not rule out reviewing the excise policy in 2026.

The prime minister said he was unsure whether the countries would be able to agree on a joint appeal to the Commission but emphasized that Brussels must respond, as a sharp increase in fuel prices would make Lithuanian businesses less competitive.

The CO2 component for fossil fuels has been in effect since the start of this year. As a result, the excise tax on gasoline has risen by 10.1 percent, diesel by 26.7 percent, marked diesel by 41.7 percent, and liquefied petroleum gas by around 22 percent.

Additionally, under the so-called Defense Fund law, which was adopted last year, excise duties on gasoline, diesel, green farm diesel, oil gas, and other energy products were increased by 6 euro cents per liter (excluding VAT) starting in January.

According to the organizations that signed the letter, this year's increase has made Lithuania's diesel excise duty the highest in the region, at 0.52 euros per liter.