Why Europe really, really needs a mild winter

In general, Europe has resisted being drawn into an expensive repetition of the 2022 energy crisis. Then, “governments were willing to pay any price to refill gas storage,” said Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.

This aversion by some countries, such as Germany, not to force or subsidize faster refilling over the summer is “risky,” he added. If energy prices soar, “the political ramifications could be pretty severe; more than the economic costs.”