Expensive petrol 'disastrous' for petrol station owners in border region

If the outgoing Cabinet allows fuel prices to rise again in January, it would be "catastrophic" for Dutch gas station owners in the border region, as well as for retailers and supermarkets. Ewout Klok, chairman of the Interest Group for Petrol Stations (BETA), warns of this.

He predicts that "tens of millions" will then end up in Belgium and Germany. "The bigger the price difference, the more people will drive across the border to fill up. And if you're abroad anyway, you'll keep buying there," Klok says. The price differences at the pump are already very large compared to our neighboring countries. This is due to the extremely high excise tax in the Netherlands. According to Klok, this leads to unfair competition.

The government wants to reverse an earlier excise tax cut in January. This will make gasoline 21 cents per liter more expensive and diesel 13 cents. A liter of Euro95 could then cost more than 2,40 euros.

Klok points out that this will "make everything more expensive again" because the additional excise tax will not only be passed on to motorists. "Transporters will also pass on the higher cost of stocking stores and supermarkets. So everyone will feel that, not just motorists," the chairman argues.

He fears the government won't do anything about the steeply increased cost of fuel. "You already have a billion-dollar hole, and what would be easier than to tax drivers additionally? The Netherlands is a transport country, we can't do without cars anyway. But they have promised us that there will be an evaluation first, so we will stick to that," he continues.

The ANWB is also "not happy" about the hefty price increases. "These already add up enormously at the pump. For many people, it is not possible to participate in society without a car. The relationship with Europe is distorted," a spokeswoman said. The ANWB had previously warned that many motorists were facing financial hardship as a result of the sky-high fuel prices.