On 22nd June, in Brussels, Eurostat released figures comparing price levels for consumer goods and services across the Member States of the European Union, for 2011, reporting that they differed widely between Denmark, which had the highest level (142% of the EU27 average) compared with Bulgaria which had the lowest (51%). The list in toto was:

Denmark (142% ), Sweden (128%), Finland (125%), Luxembourg (122%), Ireland (117%), Belgium (112%), France (111%), Netherlands (108%), Austria (107%), Germany (103%), Italy (103%), United Kingdom (102%), Spain (97%), Greece (95%), Cyprus (89%), Portugal (87%), Slovenia (84%), Estonia (79%), Malta (78%), Czech Republic (77%), Latvia (74%), Slovakia (72%), Lithuania (66%), Hungary (64%), Poland (60%), Romania (60%), Bulgaria (51%).

The report revealed that price levels for consumer goods and services in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg were 20% above the EU27 average, and Ireland, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom had prices 10% to 20% above the EU27 average. Spain and Greece were just below the average, while Cyprus, Portugal, and Slovenia were between 10% and 20% below the EU27 average. Member States with price levels between 20% and 30% below the average were Estonia, Malta, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Slovakia and those countries with levels between 30% and 40% below average were Lithuania and Hungary. The countries with the lowest prices, less than 40% of the EU27 average were Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

Although the price levels for consumer goods and services in the UK was 10% above average the cost of alcohol and tobacco was the second highest at 147% above the EU27 average. The list in toto was:

Estonia (163%), United Kingdom (147%), Sweden (145%), Spain (133%), Cyprus (125%), Germany (109%), Greece (103%), Malta (101%), Austria (97%), the Czech Republic (97%), Hungary (97%), Finland (92%), Netherlands (92%), Luxembourg (91%), Latvia (87%), Bulgaria (85%), Ireland (85%), Portugal (85%), Slovenia (84%), Denmark (83%), France (83%), Slovakia (81%), Italy (75%), Poland (73%), Romania (66%), Belgium (64%) and Lithuania (63%). This large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products among Member States.

“Clothing is one of the groups of products showing a smaller price variation among Member States, with Bulgaria (75% of the average) cheapest and Sweden (133%) most expensive. Consumer electronics is another group of products where prices differed less among Member States, ranging from 89% of the average in Poland to 125% in Malta. Excluding Denmark (167% of the average), price differences among Member States were also limited for personal transport equipment, with levels varying from 83% of the average in Bulgaria to 122% in Portugal. For restaurants and hotels, price variations were more significant, with price levels ranging from 45% of the average in Bulgaria to 154% of the average in Denmark.” (STAT/12/98)

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