Poll shows 50% of Poles support extending CPN fuel shield beyond August

Survey results on fuel shield extension

An opinion poll conducted by SW Research for Rzeczpospolita on 18–19 August 2026 found that 50% of Poles support maintaining the government fuel price shield beyond the summer holiday period. The representative survey of 800 adult internet users on the SW Panel asked whether two weeks of relief at the end of August was sufficient or if the CPN program should continue regardless of state budget costs. Exactly 25.5% of respondents opposed extending the lower prices, while 24.5% remained undecided. Support for prolonging the measures was higher among women at 52% than among men at 48%, with rural residents recording the highest support at 55%. Sociological data also showed that backing for phasing out the shield rose from under 24% among respondents earning up to 3,000 zlotys net per month to over 32% among those earning above 7,000 zlotys net.

Extension of the protective program is supported slightly more often by women (52%) than by men (48%). Rural residents express this opinion more often than others (55%).

Mechanism and retail price caps

Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the two-week reinstatement of the CPN (Ceny Paliwa Niżej) package starting 17 August 2026. The policy operates through an amended regulation from the Minister of Finance and Economy on reduced rates for goods and services tax. Under this decree, the value-added tax on unleaded petrol and diesel fuel dropped from 23% to 8% through 31 August. Unlike the spring version of the program, the August intervention does not include a reduction in excise duty. The policy also empowers the Minister of Energy to set daily maximum retail prices at petrol stations across Poland.

Price trajectory and enforcement rules

The retail price ceiling is established through a statutory formula. It combines the average domestic wholesale price with excise tax, the fuel fee, a fixed retail sales margin of 0.30 zlotys per litre, and the reduced 8% VAT rate. Fuel station operators who sell above the ministerial ceiling face administrative fines of up to 1 million zlotys. Following the implementation of the decree on 17 August, retail fuel prices fell by approximately 1 zloty per litre. Daily maximum prices have nonetheless trended upward since launch, with Pb95 petrol rising from 6.41 zlotys per litre on Monday, 17 August, to 6.54 zlotys per litre by the weekend.

Fiscal burden and geopolitical background

The financial cost of the fuel shield represents a substantial expenditure for the Polish treasury. The Ministry of Finance estimated that the previous iteration of the CPN package cost approximately 4.7 billion zlotys. The two-week VAT cut for late August will add close to 500 million zlotys to the fiscal total. The CPN mechanism was originally introduced in late March 2026 in response to global oil market instability following the outbreak of conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran on 28 February 2026. That first intervention ran until the end of June, supported by a temporary excise tax reduction that ended in mid-June. Although a Middle East ceasefire temporarily stabilized crude markets, an escalation of hostilities in mid-July led to renewed price surges at the pump.