AKEL’s proposal for a cap on fuel prices in the plenary of the Parliament
Statements by AKEL MP Kostas Kosta after the meeting of the Parliamentary Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee
12 July 2022
Today the Parliamentary Energy Committee unanimously decided to send the AKEL’s bill proposal on the need to introduce a cap to the upcoming plenary session, the day after tomorrow, Thursday. I recall that this proposal aims to improve the legislative framework, to close any loopholes and to correct distortions. In short, we remove the words “reasonable” and “excessive” in the specific article where the Minister decides when to issue a decree. We also add “consumer protection” and “international treaties”.
What we now hope is that all the political parties will rise to the occasion and that no party will move to ask for a postponement, because that would mean sending the Bill for debate in mid to late September. AKEL believes that what is happening is profiteering. We have seen over the last few weeks a noticeable further reduction in oil prices internationally, around $100/barrel, and we are still not seeing any reductions, but only increases here in Cyprus. We reiterate that we want to provide another weapon in the hands of the Minister of Energy, with the ultimate goal of protecting the consumer and citizens in general.
