Braçe blames traders for raising fuel prices at the weekend and calls for the return of the Transparency Board

Erion Braçe, a Socialist Party MP, has reacted to the rise in fuel prices, claiming that traders deliberately raised the price of diesel precisely at the start of the weekend, at a time when the tourist season is bringing a greater volume of travel.

In a social media post, Braçe said that regular diesel is currently being sold at 214–216 lekë per liter. According to him, the price of higher-quality diesel, which does not damage cars, starts at 218 lekë and goes up to 230 lekë per liter.

The Socialist MP described the timing of the increase as anything but accidental. He stressed that it occurred at the start of the weekend, as July vacationers were returning while those taking their holidays in August were traveling toward tourist destinations, creating the highest volume of movement.

As he raised the question of whether the price increase had been deliberate, Braçe replied with the expression, “There you have it—mooooooo!”, adding that the same thing was happening in Italy that day, from where, according to him, “the master of the Oil Cartel” continually copies.

Braçe recalled that a little over a week earlier he had called for the Fuel Transparency Board to resume operating, warning that the current development would occur. According to him, the absence of this mechanism has given traders the opportunity to immediately raise prices.

He said that traders, who during the period when the Board was operating had failed to make profits “by the shovel,” would now do everything they could to profit “by the scraper bucket,” precisely at the height of the tourist season.

The MP once again called for the Transparency Board to be reinstated, arguing that this mechanism is needed to curb sudden fluctuations and unjustified price increases, as well as to protect consumers.

According to Braçe, the Board should return in order to prevent traders from dealing a fatal blow to the season at its peak, making travel to the country’s various destinations more expensive and almost restricting it.