EU warns 1.3 million jobs at risk from rising energy costs

The European Commission has warned that up to 1.3 million jobs across the European Union are at risk this year due to surging energy prices caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. European Commissioner for Jobs Roxana Mînzatu issued the stark assessment on Wednesday during the presentation of the EU's 2026 Spring Semester Package, a biannual policy guidance document for member states.

According to the Commission's analysis, energy-intensive industries face the greatest danger. The automotive sector is projected to bear the heaviest burden, with up to 600,000 jobs potentially at risk. The construction, metals, chemicals, and transport sectors together could lose approximately 56,000 positions. The clean energy transition is also under pressure, with an estimated 85,000 jobs in battery manufacturing and nearly 59,000 in solar panel production vulnerable. An additional 4,500 jobs in the steel sector are threatened by higher costs linked to low-carbon regulations.

Commissioner Mînzatu stated that increased energy costs will disproportionately affect lower-income households, which could spend an additional 1.4 percent of their income on transport fuel. The broader economic...