German businesses and trade unions opposed the European Union's immediate ban on natural gas imports from Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. They said such a move would lead to factory shutdowns and job losses, the Associated Press reported.
"A rapid gas embargo would lead to lost production, shutdowns, further deindustrialization and long-term job losses in Germany," Rainer Dulger, head of the BDA employers' association, and Rainer Hoffmann, head of the DGB trade union confederation, said in a joint statement.
They believe that EU sanctions targeting Russia should cause as little damage as possible to the countries that impose them. Industry representatives say that in many cases natural gas cannot be replaced in the short term, so they oppose the initiative.
Energy analysts estimate that because of the complete shutdown of Russian gas, the governments of some EU countries will have to ration gas and allocate it to more and less important enterprises.
EU countries currently receive about 40 percent of their natural gas from Russia and about 25 percent of their oil. Analysts argue that replacing oil is easier for the bloc than gas. Nevertheless, they add, a boycott would still raise energy prices, hurting consumers.
German government economists predict that Germany could lose up to $240 billion if Russian energy supplies are cut off immediately because of the war in Ukraine.