Greece ranked sixth in the EU for gasoline prices this week, with unleaded fuel averaging 2.158 euros per liter accordin...

Greece ranked sixth in the EU for gasoline prices this week, with unleaded fuel averaging 2.158 euros per liter according to the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin from September 14. Only Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and France pay more at the pump. The problem is that all five of those countries also pay their workers dramatically more. The average gross annual salary in Greece sits at roughly 17,954 euros, or about 1,496 euros per month. Germany's average is 53,791 euros per year. Denmark's is 71,565 euros. France comes in at 43,790 euros. Greece has the lowest average wage among all six countries in that expensive-fuel group, and it isn't particularly close. That gap translates directly into purchasing power at the pump. A Greek worker on an average salary can theoretically buy around 675 liters of unleaded per month. A Danish worker can buy 1,450. A German worker can buy 1,230. France, where the pump price is almost identical to Greece's, still gives its workers 2.42 times more buying power per liter. A 50-liter fill-up in Greece costs around 108 euros, which amounts to 7.2 percent of the average monthly gross salary. The same fill-up in Denmark costs about 128 euros but represents just 2.15 percent of the average Danish wage. The Greek government is preparing a support package of roughly 200 million euros expected by the end of September. Prime Minister Mitsotakis pledged a "national intervention on heating oil" Thursday, as heating oil prices are estimated to arrive at up to 70 percent higher than last year. Greece's gasoline excise tax currently stands at 70 cents per liter, more than double the EU minimum of 35.9 cents. Other EU countries have cut fuel taxes or introduced targeted subsidies. Sweden temporarily reduced fuel taxes. Spain introduced a 20-cent-per-liter subsidy for specific professional categories. Malta has kept prices administratively fixed through state support. On diesel, Greece sits 12th in the EU at 2.122 euros per liter, slightly below the European average. But even there, a Luxembourg worker earning a similar pump price can buy 3,257 liters on an average monthly salary versus Greece's 705. #Greece #Ene...