Finland has risen to the top of the latest fuel price table in the EU, leaving even experts baffled.
A litre of 95-octane petrol now costs 1.94 euros ($2.11), putting Finland in first place ahead of Denmark and France.
Finland also finished a close second in diesel prices, being edged out by Sweden by a matter of 3 cents at 1.83 euros ($1.99)
"This is somewhat surprising. Finland has been in the top three before, but rarely in the lead," Hanna Kalenoja, a spokeswoman for the Finnish Automotive Information Center, told local media.
The differences in fuel prices among the EU countries have generally been attributed to salary levels and purchasing power. In Finland, however, taxation was singled out by Kalenoja as the main reason for the high prices.
"Right now we have the highest level of petrol taxation in all of Europe, and it contributes to the high fuel prices," Kalenoja stressed.
The Finnish fuel tax is two-pronged and consists of an excise duty and value-added tax (VAT). On top of that, there is a renewable fuel obligation that also affects the price of fuels. In Finland, the obligation used to be around 20 percent, but was cut to 13.5 percent last year and this year, which has lowered the price of gasoline and diesel somewhat, although it is still higher than in many EU nations, many of which don't have it at all.
Furthermore, Finland's energy crisis, largely in line with that of the entire EU, has been fueled by Helsinki's backfiring "retribution" against Russia and its energy over Moscow's special operation in Ukraine. From the very start, Helsinki made a point of refusing to comply with Moscow's demands to pay for energy in rubles, claiming that the hostilities in Ukraine, in which Finland is a firm supporter of the Kiev regime with both arms and finances, made further cooperation with Russia impossible. As a result, several Finnish companies have left the country, accruing heavy losses.
As the Nordic nation tries to wean itself off Russian energy and sever the once-profitable economic ties, Finns are encumbered with soaring energy bills. The Finnish economy recently entered technical recession, with dark clouds on its horizon attributed to shrinking expectations among both consumers and businesses.