November 10 – RIA Novosti. The energy nightmare in the European Union will only get worse, according to the worldwide news agency Bloomberg. ‘In order to maintain energy supplies to homes, EU countries will have to very skilfully balance between supply and demand.

The death of Europe and Britain: They will have to make difficult decisions to reduce the damage from the coming winter,’ the publication noted. As the author of the article added, for the inhabitants of some countries, the stakes in this game will be life and death.

The reason is the cold, the EU government urges citizens to save gas and set thermostats to very low values. However, people are starting to save gas, not because of the calls of leaders but because of prices that are rising every day, the article says.

In particular, Rachel Morrison, a columnist for the publication, noted that a temperature of 13 degrees and below can cause heart problems, and is also almost deadly for the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

Bloomberg reporters also interviewed a butcher shop employee in the UK. He said that there are fewer visitors every day, as prices have risen by 15-20 per cent and continue to rise. ‘They just can’t buy groceries,’ he explained.

Columnist Javier Blas, in turn, said that the crisis in Europe has become the largest in the last 50 years. ‘The current energy crisis is worse than the consequences of the fuel embargo in the 70s,’ he admitted.

The journalist cited Europe’s dependence on gas sold by Moscow as the reason for this. ‘The European Union has become accustomed to gas from Russia since the times of the USSR – it is cheap, accessible and is located very close,’ he said. As a result, the publication emphasized, the situation is deteriorating in almost all spheres of life in Europe and no improvement is expected.

Western countries are faced with rising energy prices and a surge in inflation due to the imposition of sanctions against Moscow and the policy of abandoning Russian fuel. 

Against the backdrop of a rise in the price of fuel, primarily gas, the industry in Europe has largely lost its competitive advantages, which also affected other sectors of the economy. Also, the United States and European countries are facing record inflation in decades.