“Account” for energy crisis in Europeas governments try to offset the blows of the price spike. According to relevant analysis Brueghel FoundationThe 27 member states of the European Union have so far launched €314 billion of action packages to support households and businesses, while in the UK the corresponding amount reaches a total of €178 billion. At the same time, Geria Epirus is facing extremely high inflation and the forecasts for the coming years are becoming increasingly ominous. After the European Commission’s first plan was rejected, European energy ministers are considering a new plan that would, among other things, divert excess profits from energy companies to vulnerable households and businesses. The commission also proposed a cap on energy prices and reduced consumption during peak hours. “Initially they were conceived as a temporary response to a problem that was considered ephemeral, and now these measures have been strengthened and become more structural. This amount is expected to increase, provided that energy prices remain high. Obviously, this is not sustainable in terms of public spending,” said Simone Taliapetra, a Brueghel researcher.

Institutional analysis, although taking into account electricity tax cuts, heating subsidies and support measures for some energy companies, does not fully reflect the picture in the form in which it has developed in Europe today. For example, the German government intends to nationalize Uniper as part of an €8 billion budget plan that includes a majority stake in the parent company in Finland. According to Simone Taliapetra, the growing costs of the energy crisis could widen the economic gap between EU member states. “This level of intervention also includes the risk of Europe fragmenting: inevitably, governments with more budgetary wiggle room will be better able to deal with the energy crisis, better managing the struggle to secure limited winter energy resources. Therefore, it is important to develop a policy that will ensure fiscal sustainability and coordination,” he stressed.

In the 27 EU member states, the “account” for supporting households and enterprises reaches 314 billion euros, while in Britain it is 178 billion euros.

In Greece

Our country, for its part, launched general funds of 6.8 billion euros to support households and businesses in the midst of the energy crisis. This is a percentage of the order of 3.72% of GDP, as well as proportionally the third largest percentage of GDP distributed among EU member states. and UK. Thus, the analysis of the Brueghel Foundation for Greece goes back to September 2021, when subsidies for households and small businesses were announced, the criteria for which were set in mid-October of that year. Then, in January 2022, new support measures were announced with subsidies and tax cuts. In total, according to Brueghel, at the beginning of the year the cost reached 500 million euros, while the funds of the January package alone concerned 400 million euros. Then it was announced that 100 million euros will be allocated from the Recovery Fund for the construction of photovoltaic stations. Citing Reuters, the Brueghel Foundation reports that the cost of energy subsidies last year reached 2.5 billion euros, and the cost of the measures now launched will reach an additional 1.1 billion euros in the coming months. Also in April this year, a €200 one-time support for low-paid pensioners was announced, and in May, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras announced a new €3.2 billion package to support households and businesses from the effects of the crisis. energy crisis.