The inhabitants of countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium or Italy are preparing for an autumn-winter guessing with gas and electricity restrictions and with rising inflation
Pessimism. But mostly resignation. The citizens of the major European countries know that a harder autumn-winter is coming than usual, that they will have to know whether Putin is closing the Russian gas tap for good and also about a triggered shopping cart, things that make your daily life difficult and your endanger the future. This is how they see it:
Juan Carlos Barrenac
The energy crisis and the effects of high inflation will become apparent in Germany by the end of the month at the latest. Under the slogan ‘Hot autumn against the social cold’, the left-wing party started its protest campaign in Leipzig on Monday against the unstoppable rise in energy and consumer prices. A demonstration in which several thousand people took part, while a few meters away the far right several hundred supporters gathered to protest for the same reason. Demonstrations that economists and sociologists say could turn into serious riots in a few weeks, given the desperate economic situation of many Germans, who already have serious problems paying their electricity and gas bills. Before this crisis started as a result of the war in Ukraine, one in six Germans, about 13 million people, lived below the poverty line. When winter is over, there will surely be several million more.
“People who until now paid 100 euros per month for their gas heating will soon have to pay 300 euros or more,” warns Sebastian Dullien, scientific director of the German Institute for Macroeconomics and Conjunctural Studies. To the same extent that gas rises, electricity bills rise. For many adjusted-income households, these increases are “a heavy burden and can lead to financial bankruptcy of the family,” Dullien says.
Not only the rise in energy prices and high inflation are alarming. The same or more cause a possible shortage of gas in the middle of winter. Before the war, Germany bought more than half of the gas it consumed from Russia. Ever since Moscow shut down, Berlin has been desperately looking for new suppliers and replenishing its reserves at all costs, above all to ensure the functioning of much of its industry.
That is why the humanitarian associations have sounded the alarm. The Christian organization El Arca, which takes in and feeds thousands of children from disadvantaged families every day in its 30 centers across the country, warns that the current crisis will reach dimensions unknown in the European Union’s leading economy. “I have seen children and adults in Germany with signs of malnutrition, but no one hungry, although this problem will become a reality in the coming months,” said Wolfgang Büscher, spokesperson for the organization.
And the popular movement ‘#estoyaaffectadoporlapobreza’ criticizes that state support for those without a fixed income is insufficient. Initiator of the movement, Kati Braun, who cannot work for health reasons and needs public support to survive, emphasizes that the millions of Germans in the same situation are “up to their necks in water” and that if it gets worse, if people unable to pay for electricity and gas, turn on their radiators or shower with hot water, or basically feed themselves because inflation makes it unaffordable, there will be a “social explosion” with unforeseen consequences.
Inigo Gurruchaga
Until now, domestic terror has consisted of penetrating the ‘Nextdoor’ app in search of an electrician and discovering the number of alleged and confirmed thieves prowling the English streets at night. In the past, the neighbors’ security cameras were the source of concern, but now it is the smart meter that the electricity companies install in the house.
Counters are pretty smart. They count the cost of electricity or gas consumption. Increases of 50%, 80% and even more extraordinary predictions have made the electronic box an intimate enemy. Those who don’t have a smart meter go to friends’ houses to see if it would be convenient for them to install one in their home.
It is common for UK homes to have a hot water heater programmed for bathroom or washing machine times. They have given way to the ‘combi’ boilers, common in Spain, which are more efficient. The rule is that the richer the hosts are, the cooler the house. It is often said that the rural housing stock lacks thermal insulation.
The new prime minister, Liz Truss, blames Putin for the rise in energy prices, but at the same time says that delayed production problems must be solved. Boris Johnson celebrated at his farewell that wind energy will soon generate half of the energy required in the country. Last year, daily demand was 29.4 gigawatts. The ‘mix’: 42.4% gas, 28.1% renewable, 17.9% nuclear.
Cold and hunger, and stoicism to defeat Putin. The happy ending is a windy winter for the mills. There are more empty shelves in supermarkets than before. In East London they have put security locks on the cheeses and customers have to scan the barcode on the bill to leave. There are few people in the center. Caution in spending is a matter of debate.
Darius Minor
At 80, Rita turns the theory of happy degrowth, which was very popular among circles of the Italian left 20 years ago, on its head when she explains how she faces runaway inflation in Italy with her retirement. “We have no choice but to accept unfortunate degrowth,” he says. Prices rose on average by 8.4% in August. “My husband and I try not to waste anything. With fruit, for example, we buy fewer quantities so that it does not spoil and we have to throw it away. And we try to be very careful not to leave the light on,” said this lady as she exits a food market in a residential area in Rome.
Less concerned about rising prices is Antonio, a well-positioned businessman in a suit whose only concern is the gas supply. “Because it has to be rationed, the consequences for the economy will be catastrophic,” he says. Although Italy has managed to move Russia from meeting more than 40% of its needs for this hydrocarbon to 18% of imports since the invasion of Ukraine, it is not expected to be able to abandon Moscow’s gas purchases until the second half. from 2024.
The fear of scarcity has led to a multiplication of advice to save energy at home, even reaching such an element of identity for the country as cooking pasta. Giorgio Parisi, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics, is the latest scientist to bless the most economical way to cook this food, envisioning that the fire is turned off after the water boils and the pasta is added. . Just cover the pan to cook.
The cabinet hopes that the reduction in temperature and duration of heating imposed by a new decree, along with other measures and the greater energy awareness of citizens, will allow them to save more than 5,000 million cubic meters of gas out of the 70,000 million that the country uses. normally needs per year.
beatrice judge
France is the country with the lowest inflation rate in the European Union (6.5% in August, compared to 10.3% in Spain), thanks largely to nuclear energy and government measures, such as freezing prices of electricity and gas for private individuals.
Despite this, the French have never been more pessimistic (75%) than they are now about their future and that of their children, according to a recent study by Ifop. Only 25% are optimistic, the lowest level since February 1995. Two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the issues of most concern to the French are health, rising prices and uncertainty.
The increase in the price of products is noticed by the French in the shopping cart. For example, a baguette cost an average of 93 euro cents in June 2022, four cents more than a year earlier. The price is expected to continue to rise in the coming months.
The French are getting more and more surprises. “Due to the energy crisis, your water center will remain temporarily closed,” the sign said that users of some thirty public swimming pools managed by the Vert Marin group were locked up at the doors of the facilities this week. Those responsible justify the closure of the swimming pools by the increase in energy prices.
“If this increase had an impact on the entry price of these centers, it would be multiplied by three,” the Vert Marin group explained in a statement. The group hopes to find a solution together with local or government authorities that will allow the pools to reopen to the public as soon as possible without impacting users.
Olatz Hernandez
While passing the cash register of a Brussels supermarket, a couple carefully examines the receipt. “Everything is very expensive!” they say. And it is that the monthly purchase of Belgian families has become around sixteen euros more expensive since the start of the war in Ukraine.
According to Eurostat data, the country’s inflation reached 9.9% in the second half of the year, leading to an overall price increase. However, the effect is particularly noticeable in products such as oil, bread, grains, coffee, tea, cocoa and dairy products, but also in tobacco and alcohol. Some supermarket chains have frozen the price of some of these products to help the most vulnerable families.
Beer, one of the most important national products in Belgium, did not escape the effects of the war. Rising energy prices and a lack of glass bottles have forced some breweries to shut down production, including Huyge, maker of the well-known brand Delirium Tremens.
But rising fuel prices have had the biggest impact on Belgian families, as many use diesel to heat their homes. Before the war, the liter cost 1.88 euros, now it does not drop below 2.13 euros. As a result, the Belgian government has offered a support of 200 euros to the citizens to minimize the impact on the bill.
The country imports about 75% of the energy it consumes and most of the gas comes from Norway. Belgium’s energy mix is also supported by nuclear, the second most important source, and a cut in Russia’s gas supply will delay the closure of these plants.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
