Russia's War Idles Some European Mills As Energy Costs Soar
Newsy
Nowhere more than in Italy, the European Union's third-largest economy, is dependence on Russian energy taking a higher toll on industry.
Italian paper mills that make everything from pizza boxes to furniture packaging ground to a halt as Russia's war in Ukraine has sent natural gas prices skyrocketing.
And it's not just paper. Italian steel mills, likewise, turned off electric furnaces last week. And fishermen, facing huge spikes in oil prices, stayed in port, mending nets instead of casting them.
Nowhere more than in Italy, the European Union's third-largest economy, is dependence on Russian energy taking a higher toll on industry. Some 40% of electricity is generated from natural gas that largely comes from Russia, compared with roughly one-quarter in Germany, another major importer and the continent's largest economy.
