Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Germany faces $240 billion hit if Russian gas is cut off

Germany faces $240 billion hit if Russian gas is cut off

Germany would plunge into a deep recession if its supply of Russian natural gas was suddenly shut off, the country's top forecasters warned on Wednesday.

The country would lose 220 billion euros ($238 billion) in economic output over the next two years in the event of such a shock, according to a report by five German economic institutes. German GDP would rise by just 1.9% in 2022, and contract by 2.2% in 2023. Growth would be 2.7% this year if the gas keeps flowing.

Cutting Russian gas would push Europe's largest economy into a "sharp recession," said Stefan Kooths, research director at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and one of the report's authors.

Revelations of atrocities committed in Bucha while the suburb of Kiev was under control of Russian forces prompted the European Union to escalate economic sanctions against Moscow and go after Russia's vast energy exports for the first time since it invaded Ukraine.

EU leaders agreed to phase out all Russian coal imports. An EU source told CNN Business that coal would be banned by August. A new, sixth round of sanctions is already being discussed, and some EU officials have called for action on Russian oil and gas exports.

But a ban on Russian gas in the near term would wreak havoc on Germany, which relied on Russia for about 46% of its natural gas in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. It uses the fuel to heat homes, generate electricity and help power its factories.

The European Union is already trying to slash imports of Russian gas by 66% this year, and break its dependence entirely on Russian energy by 2027.

Last week, Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the country was moving "as quickly as possible" to ditch Russian energy, but poured cold water on a sudden stop.

"The question is, at what point do we do more harm to Putin than to ourselves?" Lindner said in an interview with newspaper Die Zeit.

"If I could only follow my heart, there would be an immediate embargo on everything. However, it is doubtful that this would stop the war machine in the short term," he added.

Targeting Russian gas supplies would likely worsen inflation in Germany which hit its highest level in more than 40 years last month. Consumer prices rose 7.3% from the year before, data from the country's Federal Statistics Office showed.

The main culprit: Soaring prices for natural gas and oil, which rose by nearly 40% over the same period.

BDEW, an association of German energy and utility suppliers, said last week that it was "ready to work out a detailed plan" to phase out Russian gas quickly, but urged politicians to proceed with caution.

"After all, [cutting Russian gas] is about nothing less than the transformation of the entire German industry," Marie-Luise Wolff, BDEW's president said in a statement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×