"If I get to decide, we will take advantage of that opportunity. But I also realize that we need to talk about it," says SD leader Jimmie Åkesson at a press conference with the other three party leaders behind the Tidö Agreement, where they presented a "balance sheet" for the Tidö Agreement.
Åkesson refers to the fact that the government has received approval from the European Commission to, if the government deems it necessary, further reduce taxes on gasoline and diesel for five months.
Such a reduction below the EU minimum level would, according to the government, reduce the price at the pump by three kronor per liter. However, the EU member states, in the Council of Ministers, must also have their say before the government can decide whether to lower it.
Waiting
Just a few days ago, the tax was reduced to the EU minimum level, which meant a 40 öre lower price for diesel and a 1 kronor lower price for gasoline. That reduction is estimated to cost 1.6 billion kronor in reduced tax revenue from May through September. The second reduction would cost around 8 billion kronor over five months.
– Now we have received the first green light and we are waiting for the next one. Then we will take a position when we see what happens on the market and in the Strait of Hormuz, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M), emphasizing that the government has prepared, but has not definitively decided on a possible reduction.
The point "lower fuel prices" was one of the Sweden Democrats' most important points in the Tidö Agreement, which was finalized in the fall of 2022. The reduction obligation was removed and fuel prices in Sweden were for a while among the lowest in the EU. With the US and Israel at war with Iran, they have risen sharply again.
Thick financial statements
In the financial statements for the Tidö Agreement, the parties go through a thick document printed on Government Offices paper, item by item, of what has been implemented or is on its way. According to the Prime Minister, almost everything has been checked off.
We're not saying there are no problems, but we're on the right track. We've started to solve the things we were mandated to do something about.
Facts: The Tidö Agreement
The Tidö Agreement was presented after the 2022 election and lists, in detail and point by point, what the three new government parties, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, will cooperate with the support party, the Sweden Democrats, on until the 2026 election.
The agreement was the Sweden Democrats' condition for supporting the government.
It contains six areas: health and medical care, climate and energy, crime, migration and integration, school, and growth and household finances.
The agreement also states how the collaboration will proceed and results will be presented.
Tidö is the name of the castle where the agreement was signed.
