Μake us preferred on Google The energy crisis is back, and fuel prices are once again dominating Greek public debate. The government is preparing support measures — reportedly worth around 200 million euros by late September — after the prime minister promised a “national intervention” on heating oil.
But the key question isn’t simply how much a liter of gasoline or diesel costs; it’s how many liters a worker can actually buy with their salary. On that measure, Greece’s position looks far more difficult.
According to the European Commission’s Weekly Oil Bulletin for September 14, Greece has the sixth-highest gasoline price in the EU, at 2.158 euros per liter — about 9.5 cents above the European average, and behind only Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and France. Diesel ranks better, at 2.122 euros per liter (12th among EU states, roughly 3.7 cents below average). So Greece doesn’t have the highest fuel prices outright — it has high prices paired with unusually low income.
That income gap is stark. Greece’s average gross salary is 17,954 euros a year (about 1,496 euros a month) — far below France’s 43,790 euros, Germany’s 53,791 euros, or Denmark’s 71,565 euros. The effect on purchasing power is significant: a monthly Greek salary buys around 675 liters of gasoline, compared with 1,200 in France, 1,230 in Germany, 1,343 in the Netherlands, 1,370 in Finland, and 1,450 in Denmark.
Filling a 50-liter tank costs about 108 euros in Greece — 7.2% of the average monthly wage. In Denmark, the same fill-up costs more in absolute terms (128 euros) but eats up only 2.15% of monthly pay. That gap matters especially in Greece, where car use is closely tied to work and daily life.
Other EU countries have responded differently: Malta has administratively frozen prices, Sweden cut fuel taxes, Cyprus and Hungary lowered excise duties toward the EU floor, Slovenia combined tax cuts with price regulation, and Spain introduced a targeted 20-cent subsidy for certain professions. Greece has taken a narrower approach, focused mainly on subsidizing diesel, while its gasoline excise tax remains at 70 cents per liter — double the EU minimum of 35.9 cents.
The takeaway: Greece isn’t alone in facing high fuel costs, nor does it top every price category. But the combination of high gasoline and diesel prices with low average income puts it in a uniquely difficult position — meaning the debate shouldn’t focus only on whether prices fall by 10 or 15 cents, but on the deeper mismatch between price and income. And if heating oil rises by up to 70% this year, as some estimates suggest, the impact won’t stop with drivers — it will ripple through heating, transport, business costs, and the price of goods and services more broadly.
