Prices

In 2021, the price level for transport was above the EU average in all of the Nordic Member States, as well as most western Member States, the exception being Luxembourg. In all Baltic, eastern and southern Member States, the price level for transport was below the EU average. The highest price levels were in Sweden and Denmark and the lowest in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

In 2020, with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, DEFINITION The pandemic that began in 2020, significantly impacting transport demand and prices. Click for vocabulary there was a notable decline in the demand for energy products, leading to a 9.7% decrease in consumer prices for transport fuels and lubricants across the EU. This downward trend was observed in every EU Member State. However, as demand for energy products bounced back, consumer prices for transport fuels and lubricants in the EU surged by 17.2% in 2021. Notably, Luxembourg, Germany, Hungary, and Poland experienced price hikes exceeding 20.0%. Conversely, Malta saw a slight decrease of -2.4% in consumer prices for transport fuels and lubricants, while Ireland experienced the smallest increase at 11.0%.

Looking over a longer period, from 2011 to 2021, the EU’s annual consumer price index for transport fuels and lubricants was relatively volatile, reflecting changes in the underlying oil price. The price index fell from a high in 2012 to a low in 2016 before increasing in 2017 and 2018. The stability in 2019 was interrupted by the COVID-19 influenced fall in 2020 and rebound in 2021.