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Europe’s Energy Tab Climbs Past €700 Billion as Winter Arrives

  • Massive spending raises concerns about budgetary impacts
  • Northern Europe set for ‘unseasonably cold’ temperatures

Heating network pipes in snow near Belchatow, Poland.

Photographer: Damian Lemański/Bloomberg
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Europe’s massive tab for securing energy supplies and cushioning consumers from price spikes soared past €700 billion this month, with countries stepping up their interventions in the face of plummeting temperatures.

Countries in the European Union have earmarked and allocated about €600 billion of support since September 2021 to shield consumers from soaring costs, according to the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. That’s an increase of €50 billion from last month’s calculation.