The Saarland premier, Anke Rehlinger of the SPD, rejected calls to relax oil sanctions against Russia. She told RTL and ntv that, although supply at pump is tight, easing sanctions is not the solution. “We don’t want to financially support Putin, the war‑engenderer. The sanctions were right and they remain right” she said.
Instead, Rehlinger argued, the issue should be addressed through competition and antitrust law, a point she reiterated even in the face of pressure from Economy Minister Anna Reiche. “We have an instrument called the excess‑profit tax. That needs to be examined again” she added.
She described the current situation for German drivers as a form of “extortion” they can’t ignore. “What’s happening now literally goes straight into the coffers of large corporations. We need to do something about it, but not by aiding war‑propagators elsewhere” Rehlinger warned.
Rehlinger called for a swift review of antitrust provisions, stressing that delays render the effort useless. She said practicality and decisive action outweigh theoretical debate. “Everyone buys on the same global market, yet prices differ” she observed, citing differences she sees in Saarland, her home state, Luxembourg, and France. “That’s why we need action”. The premier urged that the policy response be swift, pointing to the economy minister as a key player who must act now.