Brussels Weighs a Windfall Tax on Energy Firms as Fuel Prices Bite

European governments have discussed imposing a bloc-wide windfall tax on energy companies, the Guardian reported on Friday, as near-record fuel and gas prices pile pressure on leaders trying to contain rising household costs. A German minister said companies were "exploiting" the situation created by conflict in the Middle East, according to the same report.

The measure remains a subject of discussion rather than a settled plan, and the Guardian frames it as a response to prices that have become a major domestic political issue across the bloc. The newspaper does not name the ministers beyond the German intervention, and no figure for the proposed levy has been published.