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Advisory body to the federal government: Monopolies Commission sees competition problems on the oil market

2022-07-05T13:23:21.060Z


A commission of experts judged that even before the energy crisis there were problems with competition in the oil industry. Economics Minister Habeck wants to give the Cartel Office more opportunities to intervene.


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According to the Monopolies Commission, the extent to which the tank discount ends up with consumers should be further investigated

Photo: Daniel Reinhardt / dpa

Fuel prices remain comparatively high - despite the tank discount.

An advisory body of the federal government sees fundamental competition problems on the oil market.

Even before the energy crisis and the introduction of the tank discount, these were clear, said the chairman of the monopoly commission, Jürgen Kühling.

The more algorithms used, the more the price increases.

The level at which the tank discount was passed on to the citizens, on the other hand, must be further investigated.

State Secretary for Economic Affairs Sven Giegold also said that the effect of the energy tax cut cannot yet be conclusively assessed.

You don't just want to look at whether the tax cut has been passed on - but also what profit margins the corporations have made.

In any case, the moral pressure of the population on the oil companies was at its maximum.

demergers as a last resort

Economics Minister Robert Habeck also wants to give the Cartel Office stricter options for intervention.

In addition to more powerful sector inquiries, competition watchdogs should also be able to skim off profits if companies abuse their market power.

As a last resort, demergers should be possible.

The Monopolies Commission welcomed the planned sector inquiry into the oil industry.

This insight into the markets is the most important tool.

However, the committee is skeptical about a tightening of profit skimming.

The Cartel Office can already impose fines much more frequently, but does not do so.

Benefits could also be skimmed off through claims for damages.

Therefore, one doubts that the tightening will change much.

In general, the Commission has recently observed less concentration among large German companies.

The share of the 100 largest German companies in the overall economic value added has fallen to 14 percent in 2020.

In terms of personnel and capital, the interdependencies have not increased either.

ani/dpa

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-07-05

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