The Oil Drum

The interesting difference to me is the list of countries above the EU threshold (the price in Luxembourg) in 2003 (47) compared to 2004 (29).  Countries as diverse as Israel, Cuba, Chad, and the Cote d'Ivoire have obviously done more to cushion their residents from the rising price than has the EU group as a whole.  In the EU, Malta and Greece, not among the economic mainstays of the union one thinks, have kept their increases below Luxembourg's.

I'm still trying to grasp the national policy advantage of keeping the price of transportation high.