President Karol Nawrocki Signs Laws to Lower Fuel Prices During Flight to Dallas

Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed two laws aimed at lowering fuel prices at the pump on March 27, 2026, doing so aboard the presidential plane during a flight to Dallas, Texas. Presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz announced the signings on the social media platform X, attaching a photograph of Nawrocki signing the documents mid-flight. The legislation had moved through parliament with unusual speed: the Sejm passed both bills on Friday, and the Senate adopted them without amendments shortly after. Both laws are set to enter into force on the day following their publication in the Journal of Laws.

Maximum price cap and excise cuts form the two-part package The first law introduces a mechanism for calculating a maximum retail price for gasoline and diesel fuel. Under the formula, the ceiling is derived from the average wholesale fuel price on the domestic market, to which excise duty, the fuel fee, a sales margin of 0.30 (PLN per liter) — statutory sales margin included in maximum price formula, and VAT are added. Fuel retailers who sell above the maximum price face a fine of up to . Compliance inspections will be carried out by the National Revenue Administration. The maximum price will be announced by the minister of energy in the form of a notice and will take effect from the day following publication. A separate amendment passed during the Sejm vote clarified that the official price constitutes only a ceiling, allowing retailers to charge less. The second law enables the Minister of Finance to reduce excise duty rates by regulation until June 30, 2026, in response to what the legislation's justification describes as the negative effects of the conflict in the Middle East on the fuel market.

Tusk's 'CPN' package promises 1.2 zloty drop per liter The legislation forms part of a broader government initiative announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, labeled the CPN package, an acronym standing for "Ceny Paliwa Niżej," or "Fuel Prices Lower." Tusk announced the package at an extraordinary government meeting, which also included a reduction in the VAT rate on fuels from 23 percent to 8 percent. The government expects the combined measures to produce a drop in prices at stations of approximately 1.2 zloty per liter compared with current levels. The excise duty reduction is intended to benefit households as well as businesses in the transport, logistics, and agriculture sectors. The Sejm's finance committee had already backed both drafts on Thursday, the same day the Council of Ministers adopted them at the extraordinary session. VAT rate on fuels under CPN package: VAT rate on fuels (before: 23%, after: 8%)

Przydacz defends airborne signing, takes aim at government's timing Marcin Przydacz, Secretary of State in the Presidential Chancellery and head of the Presidential International Policy Bureau, confirmed ahead of the signing that Nawrocki had the legal and technical means to approve legislation from aboard an aircraft. „For many years there has been such a thing as an electronic signature, and the president calmly has such instruments at his disposal in order to be able to approve various kinds of decisions” — Marcin Przydacz via Do Rzeczy Przydacz added that the president "can, in any place and at any time, formally make such decisions." He also used the occasion to criticize the ruling coalition for what he described as a two-week delay in acting on rising fuel prices, questioning whether the postponement was deliberate. „Were Poles deliberately fleeced in order to patch up Domański's hole? As the fuel price rose, so did the taxes that were flowing to Mr. Domański” — Marcin Przydacz via Do Rzeczy Nawrocki is traveling to the United States to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, with his visit also including a stop at an F-35 aircraft manufacturing facility and a meeting with the Polish diaspora in Texas, according to earlier reports.