Turning up the heat on Europe's fuel poverty crisis

With millions of Europeans having to make the desperately tough choice between eating and heating this winter, Real Economy travels to Bulgaria to see how EU funding is helping support families with a hot meal so they can direct their savings towards their other vital needs.

More than 35 million Europeans are unable to afford to keep their homes warm this winter. That’s the equivalent of the entire populations of Greece, Portugal, Hungary and Ireland combined having to decide between heating and putting food on the table.

The two root causes of fuel or energy poverty are low incomes and living in buildings with low energy efficiency.

Soaring fuel prices in Europe in recent months and the ongoing pandemic have exacerbated the problem, making it even harder for people to pay their bills.

The right to access essential services like energy is enshrined in The European Pillar of Social Rights - a guide towards stronger social rights in Europe.

The EU has outlined measures it suggests countries should put in place to keep fuel prices low, including emergency income support and tax reductions.

In France, the number of people using food banks such as Banques Alimentaires, partly funded by FEAD, the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, has jumped by more than 30% since the start of the pandemic.

It's a similar picture across Europe as people struggle to pay for food and rising energy bills.

In Bulgaria, more than a quarter of the population can’t afford to heat their home - that’s the highest level in Europe, followed by Lithuania and Cyprus.

"That’s lentils, and potatoes. I cannot complain. I'll survive."

During the winter, temperatures regularly drop below zero in Bulgaria. Finding the money to heat one’s home, especially for the