Storyline: As living costs have kept climbing across Europe over the past few years, Austrians are facing steep increases in food prices and looking for solutions, deepening the sense of a living cost crisis in Europe with no end in sight. "Literally everything has gotten way more expensive. I mean they pin it on inflation but I think they just make it more expensive to make more profit," said Jakob, a Vienna resident. However, a public study found that although Austrian food prices rose by a third over the past four years, supermarket chains did not see an increase in profits. "The Austrian finance minister calls for price interventions in food stuff. One measure that could be very helpful here is to abolish the territorial supply constraints by international food industries or they can charge European consumers in different countries different prices," said Daniel Witzani Haim, an economist with the Austrian Chamber of Labor. Territorial supply constraints allow major food corporations to sell products at higher prices in smaller countries such as Austria compared to Germany, which negotiates more favorable terms. "An Austrian retailer pays 3.20 euros (about 3.7 U.S. dollars) for a can of hairspray, while a retailer in Germany pays only 2 euros (about 2.3 U.S. dollars) for the same product. That's a 60 percent difference in the beauty sector. For processed foods, the difference is up to 30 percent," said Rainer Will, CEO of the Austrian Retail Association. In May, the EU Commission announced new measures but no legislative proposal against territorial supply restrictions. Austria is urging a change in law by year's end. Allowing retailers to have access to the same prices across the EU is one potential way to reduce food prices. Some European countries have tried with price caps, though outcomes have been mixed. Hungary and Croatia previously imposed caps on certain food products, though critics argue this led to price increases on other products. "I think a very good example is France where we have very clear price transparency, we know where price increases happen. The companies know that they have to argue why they increase prices to the degree that they do," said Daniel Witzani Haim. The Austrian Retail Association argues that a price database would only increase bureaucracy and urges addressing territorial supply constraints, which it says is the root cause. Shotlist: Vienna, Austria - Recent: 1. Various of local resident Jakob picking products out of refrigerator 2. Customer paying for goods in cash 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jakob, local resident (full name not given): "Literally everything has gotten way more expensive. I mean they pin it on inflation but I think they just make it more expensive to make more profit." 4. Various of traffic, advertisements, supermarket logo 5. Various of economist Daniel Witzani Haim reading magazine 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Witzani Haim, economist, Austrian Chamber of Labor (starting with shot 5): "The Austrian finance minister calls for price interventions in food stuff. One measure that could be very helpful here is to abolish the territorial supply constraints by international food industries or they can charge European consumers in different countries different prices." 7. Various of Jakob in supermarket, goods 8. SOUNDBITE (German, dubbing in English) Rainer Will, CEO, Austrian Retail Association (partially overlaid with shot 9): "An Austrian retailer pays 3.20 euros (about 3.7 U.S. dollars) for a can of hairspray, while a retailer in Germany pays only 2 euros (about 2.3 U.S. dollars) for the same product. That's a 60 percent difference in the beauty sector. For processed foods, the difference is up to 30 percent." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 9. Customer paying for tomatoes [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 10. Various of workers in warehouse, carrying containers by forklifts 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Witzani Haim (partially overlaid with shot 12): "I think a very good example is France where we have very clear price transparency, we know where price increases happen. The companies know that they have to argue why they increase prices to the degree that they do." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 12. Customer picking products out of refrigerator [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 13. Various of customers shopping, paying, cashier collecting money. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]