Greece spent one percent of GDP on fossil fuel subsidies in 2019, exceeding the 0.9 percent level allotted for renewable energy subsidies, a European Commission report published yesterday has shown.

However, fossil fuel subsidies in Greece are on a downward trajectory whereas subsidies for the RES sector and energy efficiency are steadily rising, the report added.

Of 1.6 billion euros made available for fossil fuel subsidies in 2019, the biggest percentage concerned diesel and petroleum products, the remainder going to the natural gas and lignite sectors.

Energy source subsidies in the EU totaled 176 billion euros in 2019, up 8 percent from 2015, the report noted.

Subsidies for energy efficiency increased during this period by 43 percent to 5 billion euros while subsidies for energy production increased by just 4 percent to 3 billion euros, primarily for renewables, the Brussels report showed.