Motorists are to be charged a levy to pay for an emergency supply of fuel.
Under rules applied by the International Energy Agency, all member states are required to keep 90 days supply of oil in reserve in case of a crisis.
From mid-next year, buyers of petrol, diesel, ethanol and biodiesel will have to pay a fifth of a cent per litre to keep this emergency supply.
This change is the latest in a series of rows over who should meet this cost.
The government originally demanded that oil companies pay the bill, but they refused, so the charge was met by the taxpayer, and now by people who buy fuel.
Another row broke out over who would store the fuel.
In the end the Government signed contracts with oil depots in Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands, though this also aroused further controversy as it potentially put the oil beyond reach in the event of the crisis it is supposed to help deal with.
