Collusion suspected among petrol station operators

MEP and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) chairman Richard Sulík on Monday urged the Anti-monopoly Office (PMU) in writing to look into what he suspects are cartel agreements between petrol station operators in Slovakia, TASR learnt on Tuesday. Sulík deems motor fuel prices in Slovakia to be excessive in view of plunging oil prices. "I don't know how much longer they're aiming to wait before looking into the prices of petrol and diesel. The wallets of Slovaks bleed whenever they refuel because the relevant authorities are failing to investigate such blatant suspicions of cartel agreements", he said. According to Sulík, fuel prices in Slovakia are the EU's highest. "Even if you take excise tax, competition and operating costs into consideration, there's still scope to cut petrol and diesel prices", said Sulík, before expressing his suspicion that filling station operators are in collusion. "That may be why our fuel prices are higher than abroad. I've filed a complaint with the Anti-monopoly Office in order to wake those gentlemen up and so that they will realise what their job is", he added. PMU confirmed for TASR that it will deal with Sulík's complaint. Spokesperson Andrea Vilhelmová said that competing businesses that are found to be parties to horizontal agreements may face a penalty of up to 10 percent of their turnover for the previous accounting period.