A European tax on petrol is among controversial budget proposals put forward by the European Commission. German budget commissioner Michaele Schrayer wants to introduce a genuinely European tax by 2014. She is urging member states to support the creation of 'a main fiscal resource based on energy, VAT or corporate income tax' to be offset by decreases in national rates.

A petrol tax is one of the options being considered, along with a possible EU levy on aviation fuel.

The current EU budget is based mainly on transfers from national treasuries.