Northern Greeks cross the border into Bulgaria for cheaper fuel

Residents of northern Greece are crossing the border into Bulgaria every day to buy cheaper fuel, as the Anadolu agency reports, citing a Wednesday report by the Kathimerini newspaper on the energy crisis in the country.

According to the reporting, Greek families are facing energy poverty: poorly insulated homes and an old car fleet leave families exposed to rising energy costs, while fuel prices in Greece remain among the highest in Europe.

At the Promachonas border crossing, residents of Serres, Drama and Kilkis travel every day to Bulgarian stations, where petrol is up to 56–60 cents per litre cheaper and diesel up to 54 cents cheaper than in Greece.

The government, meanwhile, has announced a package of measures to soften the blows: a subsidy of 15 cents per litre for diesel for the first half of October — 20 cents with the refineries’ contribution — and the objective of keeping the price of heating oil below 1.75 euros per litre, while the Brent price has exceeded 100 dollars per barrel because of the conflict in the Middle East.