Expensive “European showcase”: where Greece is ahead of the EU in prices

Greece was among the leaders EU by rising prices for electricity, gas, groceries and air tickets. Behind the rhetoric of well-being lies the increasingly expensive nature of everyday life..

According to the data provided, Greece takes 2nd place in EU by rising prices in several sensitive categories for households: milk, baby food, electricity, natural gas and air travel.

Where Greece became second in the EU

• Fresh whole milk: annual price increase in Greece amounted to 4.4% with the EU average 0.2%. This is in 22 times higher Central European level. Since 2019, the increase in milk prices in Greece has reached 32.6%.
• Baby food: annual growth amounted to 5.5% with the EU average 0.3%. This is approximately 18 times higher Central European level. Since 2019, baby food prices in Greece have increased by 32.4%.
• Electricity: price increase in Greece amounted to 14.0% per year compared to the EU average 1.0%. This is in 14 times higher average European level. Since 2019, electricity in Greece has increased in price by 44.4%.
• Natural gas: annual price increase amounted to 16.5% with the EU average 0.1%. Formally, this is in 165 times higher average European indicator. Since 2019, natural gas in Greece has risen in price by 43.2%.
• Air transportation: Airfare prices in Greece increased by 17.3%while the EU average recorded a decrease of 4.8%. Since 2019, air tickets in Greece have increased in price by 134.5%.

Third place is also not a reason to be proud

In a number of other categories, Greece ranks 3rd place in the EUwhich also shows serious pressure on family budgets.

• Resort centers and campsites: annual price increase amounted to 7.7% with the EU average 3.7%. Since 2019, growth has reached 51.3%.
• Toll roads: prices increased by 6.5% with the EU average 2.3%. Since 2019 the growth has been 4.7%.
• Housing, water supply, electricity and gas: growth amounted to 13.4% with the EU average 3.3%. This is more than three times higher than the average European level. Since 2019, total growth in this category has reached 34.9%.
• Lamb and goat meat: annual price increase amounted to 13.3% with the EU average 7.46%. Since 2019, prices have increased by 94.0%.
• Beef: annual growth amounted to 19.2% with the EU average 14.29%. Since 2019, beef in Greece has risen in price by 76.7%.

Editorial comment

These numbers are unpleasant not because they spoil the government’s beautiful presentation. They are unpleasant because they describe the everyday life of an ordinary person.

When electricity becomes more expensive, this is not an abstract line in a table. This is the bill that comes home. When milk and baby food become more expensive, this is no longer “inflationary pressure”, but a direct burden on families. When air tickets more than double in price since 2019, a country that lives on tourism and island logistics begins to pay for its own geography.

Main problem The point is that the rise in prices in Greece increasingly looks not like a temporary shock, but like a systemic condition. The state talks about development, investment and European success, but for a significant part of the population this success is expressed in one thing: living becomes more expensive in almost everything.

This looks especially painful against the backdrop of low wages and high domestic pressure. A Greek family is faced not with one expensive category, but with several at once: housing, electricity, gas, groceries, transport, travel. And all this adds up to the feeling that the country is formally “growing,” but for some reason the citizen is becoming poorer.

The authorities can talk as much as they want about macroeconomics, ratings and restoring market confidence. But a person evaluates the economy not by a press release, but by the basket in the supermarket, the electricity bill and the price of a ticket.

Conclusion: Greek reality is increasingly at odds with the official story of prosperity. If a country finds itself among the EU leaders in terms of rising prices for basic goods and services, then the question is no longer a matter of statistics, but of the honesty of the political conversation with society.

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