Tusk urges President Nawrocki to sign windfall tax as diesel hits 8.99 PLN

Global supply disruptions

In a video published on 28 September 2026 on social media, Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed rising domestic fuel costs, stating that the average price of diesel in Poland reached 8.99 PLN per liter, while petrol remained slightly lower. Tusk attributed the global price pressure to ongoing military conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He noted that Middle Eastern nations represent one third of global crude oil extraction, but daily exports from the region dropped from 30 million barrels before the hostilities to 12 million barrels as of September 2026. Furthermore, military damage to Russian refineries forced large Asian consumers, including China and India, to procure refined fuels and crude from alternative global markets. Tusk added that policy decisions from the United States administration under President Donald Trump left the near-term outlook for the Middle Eastern war unclear.

Our dreams of peace in both Ukraine and the Middle East are not enough for these conflicts to end. We have to assume that for many months to come we will be witnesses, and in some sense victims, of these conflicts.

The windfall tax dispute

Tusk stated that the Polish government cannot alter the trajectory of foreign wars, but sought a legislative mechanism to alleviate consumer costs at domestic petrol stations. The cabinet drafted a windfall tax targeting excess profits generated by fuel companies between March 2026 and March 2027 from liquid fuel sales. Revenues from the levy are intended to finance the protective program titled Lower Fuel Prices (Ceny Paliwa Niżej) by subsidizing cuts to value-added tax and excise duties. Tusk emphasized that the mechanism would tax surplus profits without interfering in the daily operational procurement or pricing strategies of state-controlled Orlen and other market operators. The measure represents the government's second legislative attempt, after President Karol Nawrocki referred an earlier version of the windfall tax to the Constitutional Tribunal for preventive review in July 2026.

We are all waiting with tension in Poland today to see whether the president will sign or not sign the act that will enable the introduction of such a special tax.

Opposition and presidential response

The Presidential Palace rejected Tusk's appeal on Monday evening. Speaking on Polsat News, presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz accused the prime minister of political hypocrisy, arguing that the cabinet holds the direct authority to lower fuel taxes, emission fees, and retail margins without imposing a specialized corporate tax. Leśkiewicz pointed out that Nawrocki submitted an alternative legislative proposal, Fuel Costs Normally (Paliwo Kosztuje Normalnie), which is currently awaiting parliamentary review in the Sejm.

Donald Tusk thinks Poles have a short memory. I will remind you that two years ago, three years ago, in 2023, he promised fuel at 5.19 PLN.

Additional criticism emerged from Law and Justice (PiS) representatives. Member of the European Parliament and former Orlen chief executive Daniel Obajtek referenced Tusk's June 2022 promise of 5.19 PLN fuel when oil was 120 dollars per barrel and the dollar traded at 4.45 PLN. Obajtek suggested the prime minister replicate his early 2024 policy, when the government used 15 billion PLN from Orlen to freeze gas prices, rather than placing responsibility on the head of state. Lawmaker Jacek Sasin also criticized the prime minister for addressing fuel market issues from a podcast studio setup.