[Global Times correspondent in France and Spain Yu Chaofan, Global Times correspondent in Germany Aoki] Soaring energy prices are increasingly dragging down the European economy, and Germany, where energy-intensive industries are concentrated, is the first to bear the brunt.

German TV 1 quoted Siegfried Russwarm, chairman of the German Federal Federation of Industry, as saying on the 28th that European industry may no longer be able to withstand "huge electricity and natural gas price pressure".

In 2021, the price of 1 kWh of electricity in Germany is still around 0.30 euros, it has risen to 0.35 euros in early 2022, and now it has soared to 0.44 euros.

Electricity bills in Germany are already among the highest in the world, and prices in neighboring European countries are also rising.

　　The latest data released by the German Federal Statistics Office on the 29th showed that the price of imported energy in Germany was 129.5% higher than that in February 2021, the cost of domestically produced energy increased by 68.0% year-on-year, and consumers spent the month for household energy and fuel compared with the previous year. 22.5% more.

Among them, the price of natural gas increased by 256.5% year-on-year, and the price of heating oil and fuel increased by 30.2%.

At the same time, the import price of petroleum and mineral products has also increased by 70% from a year ago, and the price of imported coal has increased by 190.9% year-on-year.

　　A spokesman for the Lech steel plant in Bavaria, Germany, said that the plant has frequently interrupted production lines recently because of the energy crisis.

"If natural gas becomes scarce in Europe, the situation could become very problematic," warned Entrup, head of the German chemical industry association.

Plant shutdowns will be longer if the EU imposes an oil and gas embargo on Russia.

The German glass industry, which employs 900,000 people, has also been badly affected by skyrocketing natural gas prices.

A spokeswoman for the industry association said, "To minimize damage to glass jars during manufacture, the glass industry needs to ensure that it has access to gas that is at least 70 percent operational." A number of glass makers have now stopped production.

　　Germany's paper industry is also in "dismal operation", and some paper companies have been forced to cut production.

Norwegian papermaker Norske-Skog, which had previously complained about doubling in gas prices, suspended production at its Austrian plant until April this year.

A tissue company that did not want to be named said it had "selectively shut down paper machines at its German plants" because it could not bear the surge in energy prices and could not rule out further closures.

German consumers are feeling the consequences: toilet paper has become more expensive and many supermarkets have been snapped up.

　　The loudest alarm right now comes from the German logistics sector.

Engelhardt, spokesman for Germany's Federal Association of Road Transport, Logistics and Disposal (BGL), warned that many freight forwarders were "desperate" at not being able to cope with high fuel prices and that individual companies had abandoned their trucks.

At the same time, the lack of drivers is also a problem: about 100,000 Ukrainian drivers, who usually carry German freight through Eastern European companies, are unable to arrive.

Because fuel is expensive, many German fishermen have left their boats in ports in the North and Baltic Seas.

A DPA survey of several fishing cooperatives found that fishing in these areas is largely at a standstill.

Deutsche Bank has cut its growth forecast for industrial production to 3% from 5%.

Bottlenecks in natural gas supplies will hit energy-intensive industries such as chemicals, metal production and building materials hardest.

Hausgen, president of the German Federation of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers, expects output to rise by 4% this year, instead of the 7% previously expected.

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　　According to calculations by the Bruegel Institute, a Belgian economic research center, assuming that Russia's natural gas supply is halved and the cost of importing other alternative gas sources increases by 50%, Europe will pay an extra 25 billion euros in 2022. Imports will total 370 billion euros, compared to just 60 billion euros in 2019.

Existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Europe are largely distributed in southern Europe such as Spain, and there is no strong energy interconnection infrastructure and mechanism within Europe.

Bruegel's analysis suggests that the short-term cost of reducing the EU's energy dependence on Russia could reach 100 billion euros.