The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said that energy prices are increasing everywhere and said that instead of paying EUR 59 for his electricity, he is now paying EUR 500.
The comment came amid his visit to Tirana on Tuesday, where he met several officials and discussed the Ukraine-Russia war, price increases, and Western Balkan integration in the EU.
“I was paying for the energy of the house in Spain, it used to be 50 euros, and now the unit has gone 500 euros. This is what happened to everyone. The diesel fuel he uses for the car in Brussels is more than 2 euros per litre. But there has been a 20% increase,” he said, adding that “it is a phenomenon that will affect the poorest countries.”
Borrell earns over EUR 288,000 a year in his EU role. Meanwhile, the average Albanian earns EUR 393 per month, a figure he earns in just half a day.
Albanian households face bills of more than EUR 120 this winter, even with conservative usage. Meanwhile, fuel prices have increased by up to 70% at some pumps, 53% of which is government tax.
During the press conference, Borrell said the increases were not due to EU and US sanctions but rather the war itself.
“The war has created a major disruption to the world economy. There are consequences of being sanctions. But it is a process that started with the earlier increase of energy, of gas and it’s a consequence of the dependency we have and Russia is using it as a weapon. It is not a matter of the consequences of sanctions, but of war.”
He did not address the ongoing protests across Albania. Yesterday Rama claimed a Brussels official told him economic protests serve Russia and questioned who was behind them. The Commission did not immediately reply to questions on this, by the time of publication.
