To ask what the rest of (geographic) Europe are doing differently?

[CanIJustAskAnotherStupidQuestion]

I have friends and colleagues in Nordics, Spain, Italy, Germany and they all keep asking what the hell is going on in Britain, with double digit inflation and 80% increases in fuel costs. They don’t seem to be feeling all of this to the same extent.

So why is it happening here, and not so much elsewhere? I know that e.g. France hasn’t been hit with fuel bills for consumers because EDF is nationalised (but presumably that means they will get hit in taxes). But what about elsewhere?

Good question and so interested in the answer

Apparently France are somewhat protected from the energy price increase due to their nuclear power.

From what I understand EDF in France is state owned and they have stepped in to put a 4% cap on.

Also, the French government only allowed the energy companies to increase prices by 4%. However, I heard on the radio today that the energy companies are suing the French government for 8 billion as only allowing them to increase prices by 4% means that they are selling to consumers at a loss.

Do you think us constantly voting Tory could possibly be a factor?

I am in Spain. Our government has properly capped fuel costs. So affordable heating and petrol.

They have given free train fairs so commuters don't have to worry about the cost of getting to work.

Rental caps tents can't go up

Trailing of universal income

It's good to live in a socialist country. Ps our healthcare is sooo good

Funny you say that. We are not long back from Italy. Conversations with locals there suggest they are similarly worried about energy prices. Dh manages a team located around Europe and everyone is worried about inflation and energy prices. I can’t understand why your ‘friends’ think it’s just the U.K.

👏🏼

The French are in complete chaos - EDF has had to be nationalised. And they are unable to take advantage of the energy crisis as they are not able to generate as much as usual. Further, they are in the grip of a crime wave and the government is paralysed as Macron lost his majority.

Germany has had a horrendous time and is planning for worse to come on the gas front.

Italy’s government dissolved into total mayhem and has been disbanded with more elections to come.

And on, and on.

Strange as it may seem, our government isn’t that unusually bad.

Speaking to my own EU friends, they are worried about energy prices. But when we compared actual prices and estimates of rises, it became apparent that worry is relative. France, for example, is not seeing the astronomical rises we are.

A combination of privatisation leading to lack of investment into infrastructure and siphoning off money to shareholders, brexit, tory government being completely ineffective.

Germany have capped energy rises.

I’m starting to become cynical that the UK government is allowing this to spiral in the hope that some of the recently arrived economic migrants might row themselves back across the channel when they realise what a shit show it is here.

They have given free train fairs so commuters don't have to worry about the cost of getting to work

But people WILL pay for this. The money has to be taken from people and put back into the economy sooner than later.

We are also in the grip of a huge rise in violent crime. That’s what happens when you allow the police to focus on policing the internet instead of the streets, as well as slash their numbers overall. Plus add in an economic downtime and people will start to rob and steal more.

I’m in Portugal, we also have capped energy prices. Petrol prices went up quite a bit (though coming down again), but electricity and gas hasn’t.

As I understand it, spain and Portugal obtained a ruling from the EU to decouple their wholesale energy prices from natural gas, on account of the high level of renewables here, and that our gas is imported from North Africa, not Russia.

there has been inflation here, but below EU average. The U.K. sounds insane.

The governments are mostly trying to be decent, instead of lining up for some extra profit at the end of the year and trying to enlarge their pockets every step of the way.

Many EU countries - especially in the south of the continent - are still coming out of the 2008 recession. Economic cycles make it unlikely for them to head down another one again.

I live in Germany and energy prices have been capped, between June and August we’ve all had access to 9€ monthly public transport tickets valid nationwide.

My family in Spain have also had capped rises, recent increase in minimum income and from next month there are free public transport travelcards available to commuters.

Yes, we’re feeling the rise in cost of living, but it’s nowhere near as bad.

Why did your friends in Greece say a few years ago?

I know from friends that things aren't great in Germany - they don't seem to be doom mongering, though.

I don't believe there is generally any great difference between the UK and the rest of Europe, with regard to energy prices or inflation.

A week or so ago when I last looked at wholesale energy prices, the UK and Scandinavian countries were actually slightly cheaper than the rest of Europe. (Possibly ignoring France, which is a bit of a special case.) I could be wrong, but I seem to remember Poland and Germany and Italy having higher prices than the UK.

If you want to start a discussion, maybe start by presenting some data, so it we know your motive isn't just political bashing based on a false premise.

Petrol prices have been capped in France too - it's around €1.70/L where I am.

I think there is a higher cap on gas than electricity - maybe 12%? We pay a fixed amount monthly and there doesn't seem to be a way to find out actual usage. It was already expensive though!

Food costs have gone up - items that were say €2.00 a few months ago are now €2.30. Going up in 5c increments so that we don't notice Food here was already much more expensive than in the U.K.

We will be ordering wood soon - we live in an area with cold winters and lots of people have fireplaces or stoves. My usual supplier has increased the price from 78 last year to 102 this year. I have found another supplier offering it at 90. Still a big increase.

There is an EU-wide agreement to (try to?) cut power usage by 15% by doing things like lowering heating in public buildings and asking shops to turn off lightings (signs/window displays) at night. Switzerland is in on this too, not sure about other EEA countries.

Am envious of the countries with cheaper/free public transport!

You forgot to mention that Spain has one the highest unemployment rates in the Eurozone, at 12.5%. It also has a debt to GDP ratio of 117% vs UK at 85%.

Other than those two gigantic problems, everything is fine and dandy in Spain.

Posters seem to think energy price caps in other countries are something for them to boast about. When there's an energy shortage, price caps are stupid as they encourage more usage, and they help the rich more than the poor, because the rich use more energy. If anything, you should drive the price up even further by putting extra tax on energy, and distribute the money raised equally to all households via their energy bills. The rich and high energy users would be hit by this, giving them a greater incentive to economise. Low users and the poor would gain more from the subsidy than they'd lose from the tax, so they would be better off.

This is why Catalonia wants independence. Because this region pays for all the crackpot socialist policies in Spain.

My impression (German living in Belgium after 15 years in UK) is that there are problems everywhere, but not the same combination of toxic free market ideology and political paralysis as in the UK.

Here in Belgium, the far tight is running ads about the need to bring down energy prices; govt has lowered VAT on energy but we're still feeling the rise.

In Germany, the Greens, part of the governing coalition, want a windfall tax on energy companies; the liberals, also part of it, don't. Argument continues. But redistribution measures are planned and uncontroversial.

So it's difficult everywhere, but sort of a difference in degree marked enough to turn into one of quality, iyswim.

@Getoff not boasting at all, like others I suspect I am just mentioning how sone things are being handled as I thought it was an interesting discussion. I suspect that many things were more expensive here to start with than in the U.K., so maybe there will be some evening out?

I imagine one advantage of price caps is that they are cheaper administratively than organising rebates. And yes there are caps but the prices have still increased, so why would people use more?

If you want to start a discussion, maybe start by presenting some data, so it we know your motive isn't just political bashing based on a false premise.

Its responses like this that are ruining MN. If you think I have some nefarious purpose then ask MNHQ to check me out.

Thanks to those who are contributing more genuinely! It’s interesting to hear the differences. With MN being quite U.K.-centric there is a tendency to think it’s the same everywhere.