The European Union's oil bill rises by 10 billion in one year

The European Union spent an average of 27.6 billion euros per month on oil imports in the second quarter of 2026, about 10 billion euros more than the average recorded in 2025. The figure, calculated from EU import data and reported by AmeVe Blog, currently comes from a single source; no independent confirmations are available at the time of publication.

The point that makes the figure significant is not the increase in spending itself, but its disconnect from the physical volumes purchased: the quantities of oil imported by the Union changed by only 1.2 percent compared to the previous year, a marginal change against spending that grew much more sharply. The rise in Europe’s energy bill, in other words, is almost entirely attributable to the price paid per unit of product, not to greater demand.

This disconnect emerges clearly in the cost per tonne, which rose from 487 euros in 2025 to 750 euros in 2026:

Indicator	2025	2026
Average cost per tonne	487 €	750 €
EU average monthly spending	—	27.6 bn €
Change in imported volumes	—	+1.2%

On the front of individual countries, the Netherlands remains confirmed as the top importer within the Union, with 2.7 million barrels per day. Rotterdam’s position as the main entry point for crude oil into the European market therefore remains central to the bloc’s energy supply geography, regardless of international price trends.

The increase in European energy spending comes against a market backdrop in which, according to other surveys from the same period, crude oil prices showed phases of decline: an apparent paradox explained by the difference between current futures quotations and the average cost actually borne by the Union in the months examined by the report, a figure that reflects contracts and trade flows distributed over time rather than the spot price of a single day.