DEINDUSTRIALIZATION: German industry unlikely to fully recover from energy crisis, warns RWE boss.

German industry is unlikely to recover to pre-Ukraine war levels as elevated prices from imported liquefied natural gas have put Europe’s largest economy at a “disadvantage”, the chief of one of Germany’s leading energy companies has warned.

“Gas prices in continental Europe, especially in Germany, are structurally higher now, because we, in the end, depend on LNG imports,” said Markus Krebber, chief executive of RWE. “The German industry has a disadvantage.”

His comments come as European gas prices have plummeted 90 per cent from the record levels seen in 2022 and dipped briefly to levels last seen before the energy crisis, spurring questions about the extent to which industrial demand will recover.

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder helped make Germany dependent on Russian energy then took high-paying jobs at Russian energy firms after leaving office.