Rainer Dulger, chairman of the BDA employers' group, and Reiner Hoffmann, chairman of the DGB trade union confederation, issued a joint statement on Monday to say that such a move would lead to factory shutdowns and the loss of jobs in the bloc's largest economy, the AP news agency reported.
“A rapid gas embargo would lead to loss of production, shutdowns, a further de-industrialization and the long-term loss of work positions in Germany,” the statement said, as quoted by Germany's dpa news agency.
Dulger and Hoffmann argued that EU sanctions need to be targeted to put pressure on Russia while minimizing the damage to the countries imposing the punitive measures, the Associated Press reported.
Polish government officials have said the EU should stop buying Russian coal, gas and oil because Russia is using funds from energy exports to finance its destructive war against Ukraine.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński on Tuesday warned that Europe faced “an existential threat” amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine because it "has a rogue state at its borders.”
(gs)
Source: tvp.info, AP, rferl.org