That is becuse the etanol will not combuste when the engine is cold, only the gasoline ignites, and the engine requiers 15% more etanol than gasoline to run. Allthoug etanol have higer octan rating than gasoline, so you will actually get more power (if you have automatic adjustable ignition with...
Because of other standards to mesure quality of the petrol in Europe vs the US, 87us equals 95 in europe and 89 is (almost) 98.
Today, 87 (US) costs 9,6$\pr gallon(!) at the local gas station. 80% of this are taxes... go Norway...