Bloomberg reported yesterday what ordinary Europeans know in their bones: that EU member states have spent roughly a trillion dollars because of the energy crisis, triggered by the suicidal sanctions against Russia, and that their physical economies are collapsing to boot. Most European countries have been bludgeoned into cutting off all gas imports from Russia, and have either turned to far more expensive alternate sources, or to simply doing without.
“Once you add everything up—bailouts, subsidies—it is a ridiculously large amount of money,” Martin Devenish, a director at consultancy S-RM, told the agency. “It’s going to be a lot harder for governments to manage this crisis next year.”
Bloomberg reported that the total estimated losses marks just the beginning of a full-scale crisis, as a period of high prices for energy could last years, while aid is already becoming unaffordable. A state of emergency could linger for years, according to Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, Bloomberg reported.
