On Monday, the government and the Sweden Democrats called a press conference. There, they presented measures to help Swedish households with the prices of both fuel and electricity. Regarding fuel, measures will be introduced in just a few weeks.

About 20 percent of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most important bottleneck for energy transport. Following attacks by the US and Israel, passage has become more difficult, which in turn has caused oil prices to start rising.

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump warned that if Iran does not open up the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US would bomb the country’s power plants. Iran responded that if the US does so, it would shut down the strait completely. On Monday, it was announced that Trump would postpone any attacks for five days.

READ ALSO: Chief Economist: The Iran War Could Hit the Economy Hard

To help Swedish households as fuel prices rise, the government and the Sweden Democrats have decided to temporarily lower the tax on petrol and diesel to the EU minimum level, which is expected to reduce petrol prices by one krona per liter and diesel by 40 öre per liter. The reduction comes into force on May 1 and applies until the end of September.

– What is happening in the Middle East and the rest of the world is putting Sweden’s economy to the test, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M).

In parallel, the Tidö parties will apply to the EU Commission for permission to lower the fuel tax even further if necessary.

More Support Funds

Another announcement was that the previously proposed high-cost protection against high electricity prices is now being put in place. In addition to the one billion kronor already included in this year’s budget, an additional electricity and gas support for all households of 2.4 billion kronor will be proposed in the spring amendment budget. The support will be based on households’ consumption in January and February. The money will be paid out by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in June.

If this is not enough, further measures are ready to be taken, promises Minister for Energy Ebba Busch (KD).

In total, initiatives worth 4.1 billion kronor were presented in the spring amendment budget. These also included investments in the so-called transition to climate neutrality.

Press conference:

READ ALSO: Tidö Victory in the EU – Sweden Escapes Costly Fees