EU households spent an additional 18.9 billion euros on electricity, gas and car fuel between March and June 2026, as a result of rising energy prices linked to the conflict over Iran.
According to the newspaper Izvestia, based on data from the European Statistical Office and the European Commission, France recorded the highest value of additional spending during the four months, at 4.3 billion euros, followed by Germany at 3.6 billion euros, and then Italy at 3.36 billion euros. The estimates include direct household spending on energy and car fuel, but do not include higher prices for food, transportation and services resulting from increased business costs.
The calculations assume that fuel consumption remains at its previous level, so that the increase in expenses mainly reflects higher prices. Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at Freedom Global, said that the additional €19 billion spent by European households on fuel for homes and cars over four months represents a significant amount, but does not yet constitute a critical burden on the EU economy as a whole. Economist and Goldman S. Bow partner Ahmed Yusupov explained that rising energy costs are taking up an increasing share of household budgets, reducing the money available to spend on non-food goods and services.
According to Izvestia's estimates, the continuation of the conflict could force European households to spend an additional 88.8 billion euros on the entire consumption basket by the end of 2026, in order to maintain the same standard of living. The International Energy Agency, on the other hand, expects electricity prices in the European Union to rise by about one and a half times by the end of 2026.
