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As the weather gets colder in Europe, policymakers are this week turning their attention to an increasingly worrying situation affecting energy prices across the continent. There are fears of a “winter of discontent” due to astronomical heating costs, saddling citizens with huge bills amid the ongoing recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
This week, the European Union’s member countries have been trying to agree to a coordinated response to the surge in energy prices caused by a variety of factors, including a resurgence in demand following last year’s crash amid the coronavirus pandemic and a Russian squeeze on natural gas exports.