But how does the UK compare to other European countries?
Ireland
Ireland has granted energy credits, cut taxes on natural gas, electricity, petrol and diesel and reduced bus and train fares in one of the most expensive countries in the EU. The measures introduced from early 2022 have put an extra €480 (£403) in the average person’s pocket. Households received a €200 energy credit in April, followed by cuts of 9% to 13.5% in VAT which will save households around €50 on gas and €70 on electricity. Public transport fares fell by 20% in April and halved for 19 to 23-year-olds. Fuel cuts amount to 20 cents per liter of petrol and 15 cents per liter of diesel. The government says measures in last October’s budget, such as a €5 weekly pension increase and a modest de facto cut in income tax, anticipated the cost of living crisis. Leo Varadkar, the tanaiste, or deputy prime minister, claimed Ireland was doing “much more” than the UK, although fact-checkers struggled to verify or debunk the claim.
Germany
Germany passed several measures to ease the cost of living crisis in July. A €9 per month ticket scheme, covering travel on all modes of urban and regional transport, was designed to encourage commuters and holidaymakers to leave the car at home and help those who depend on public transport. ICE high-speed trains are excluded from the offer, which runs until August 31. From June to August, the government is also reducing fuel tax, which makes up about 50% of the total fuel price. While studies suggest that fuel companies have largely passed these cuts on to consumers, rather than collecting them as originally feared, prices remain significantly higher than this time last year, especially for diesel. There are also a number of lump sum payments: people in gainful employment must be paid a €300 energy lump sum through their employer’s payroll, which companies can claim from the government. For self-employed people, it will appear as a reduction of 300 euros in advance income tax. People on social welfare will receive 200 euros. One-person households on housing benefit will be subsidized at €270 per month, rising to €350 for two-person households and €70 per additional person thereafter. To further help larger households with spiraling gas and electricity bills, families are being paid a one-off payment of €100 per child in July.
Spain
Spain arguably went one step further than Germany earlier this month when its Socialist-led coalition government said travel on some parts of the state-run rail network, Renfe, would be free from September 1 until the end of year. This was in addition to a previous policy where the government agreed to a 30% discount on all public transport, including metros, buses and trams. The price reductions are implemented to mitigate the impact of inflation and skyrocketing energy prices. 100% rail discounts apply to multiple journey ticket journeys on commuter services and medium distance journeys of less than 300km. While it is mainly aimed at season ticket holders in Spain, tourists can take advantage of it if they buy multi-journey tickets. Last year, Spain cut VAT on electricity bills from 21% to 10% and last month announced a further drop to 5% in a bid to limit the impact of price rises on consumers. A package of measures announced at the end of June includes a 15% increase in pensions for the most vulnerable, including widows and the disabled, and a €200 payment to certain categories of people with incomes below €14,000. The price of gas will be fixed until the end of the year.
France
The French government, keen to prevent energy bills from rising even more than they already have, is poised to spend billions of euros to fully nationalize energy company EDF in a bid to tackle the energy crisis and boost domestic supplies . By placing the company in full state ownership, it aims to make investments to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. In January this year, the government announced it would force EDF to take an €8.4 billion financial hit by limiting bill increases to 4% this year. Meanwhile, every citizen whose monthly income was 2,000 euros or less before tax received a one-off “inflation allowance” of 100 euros last year after energy prices rose. A discount of 15 cents per liter on petrol and diesel was also imposed earlier this year.
