EU energy production remains 66.3% above early 2021 levels

Brussels – Energy costs slightly less in the EU, but still too much. Eurostat data on industrial production of goods needed by businesses and households for everyday activities confirm a now structural problem across Europe, which is also at the root of competitiveness issues. In December 2025, according to the  European statistical institute, industrial producer prices for energy on the domestic market fell by 1.3 per cent compared to the previous month and by 7.7 per cent year-on-year compared to December 2024. 

What, at first glance, may seem like good news for the EU and its productive and consumer fabric is actually part of a different story in terms of content and costs. Looking at the last five years, Eurostat notes that industrial energy producer prices rose in 2022 before entering a period of decline. Overall, however, prices rose by 66.3 per cent between January 2021 and December 2025. 

This last point highlights the issue at the heart of the informal summit of heads of state and government in Belgium, which is determining how to boost the Union’s competitiveness. Reducing energy prices is an issue and a decisive factor for a Europe that wants to be truly competitive and strong in the global market, and it is a subject of the political priorities set out in the Italian-Belgian-German strategy, as outlined in the document  drafted ahead of the leaders’ summit. 

The issue of high energy prices is considered an existential challenge by Mario Draghi in his report on competitiveness in which the former ECB president and former prime minister points out that “even though energy prices have fallen significantly from their peaks, EU companies still face electricity prices that are 2-3 times higher than in the United States,” while “natural gas prices are 4-5 times higher.” Today’s Eurostat data (12 February), updated to the end of 2025, once again confirms that energy still costs too much, which is detrimental to competitiveness.