Since the start of the war, the EU has spent an extra €24 billion on energy imports due to higher prices, “without receiving a single extra molecule of energy,” the European Commission announced. Some industries are already struggling to survive.
“For the second time in less than five years, Europeans are paying the price of Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels,” notes the EC.
The decline in oil supplies is shifting to the West
The decline in oil and natural gas supplies caused by the war with Iran, which has already hit Asia hard, is steadily shifting westward. Even if potential peace talks end the conflict this week, at least some of the damage to Europe's economy has already been done.
“Even if hostilities cease immediately, disruptions to energy supplies from the Persian Gulf will persist for the foreseeable future,” the European Commission said.
Energy crisis in Europe
The list of problems facing households and businesses grows by the week, from higher gas and food prices to fewer and higher costs of flights.
For some companies, the effects of the energy crisis were particularly severe. For example, many European fishermen have stopped fishing because rising energy and raw material costs have hit profits so hard, according to EU executives.
Businesses and households may also experience a sharp increase in the prices of plastics and detergents. Germany's BASF, one of the world's largest chemical producers, has raised prices on everything from formic acid, used in animal feed, to cleaning products – in some cases by more than 30 percent.
The International Energy Agency and ACI Europe, a group of representatives of the airport industry, warn that in Europe, which imports about 70 percent. aviation fuel, shortages of this fuel may occur in the coming weeks.
The EU responds to the energy crisis
The European Union has announced a number of planned emergency measures aimed at mitigating the effects of rising energy costs.
The proposals, announced Wednesday, underscore the economic damage that the war with Iran is inflicting on Europe, which has only recently emerged from an energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
