Oil companies in Germany reaped an estimated €702 million in excess profits in May alone, according to a Greenpeace analysis of the country's Tankrabatt (a government fuel tax reduction worth €1.6 billion, introduced for two months to shield drivers from high pump prices). The environmental group found that while average fuel prices did fall after the subsidy took effect, industry profits remained far higher than before the recent rise in global oil prices, with the companies initially passing on only 11–12 euro cents of the 17-cent-per-litre tax saving to consumers. Greenpeace described the policy as reckless tax spending that effectively funnelled public money to oil corporations, and called on the German government to pursue demand-reducing measures — such as a motorway speed limit — alongside a windfall tax on oil company profits.