From bakeries to small European clothing and carpet businesses to paper mills producing toilet paper, small European businesses are on their knees because of the cost of energy.

These are all European companies with less than 250 employees, but they represent 99% of all companies in the EU, contribute more than 50% of its GDP and employ 100 million people.

As noted in a related Wall Street Journal report, industrial giants producing steel, chemicals, fertilizers and energy-intensive industries in general were the first to be hit by rising natural gas prices. Some have even had to shut down their foundries or other high-value operations in Europe and relocate them to other geographic areas with lower energy costs. They have this choice because they have an international presence. After all, many large companies are benefiting from long-term contracts that were entered into and closed before the onset of the energy crisis and the sharp rise in energy prices. However, those European companies that do not have an international presence cannot move their production outside the Old Continent in order to reduce energy costs. So they are torn between the demands of their suppliers and the imperative not to pass on increased costs to their customers.

This year in Britain, massive lockouts of pubs serving fried fish or chicken and chips are expected.

Holger Schmidig, an economist at investment bank Berenberg, points out that “many have already cut production and will have to cut even more.” German insurance company Allianz SE estimates that higher energy prices will take away about $150 billion from the profits of small and medium-sized enterprises in the European manufacturing sector this year. A case in point is Adalberto Estampados in Portugal near Porto. She dyes fabrics her boss says are used for designer clothes, such as those for luxury brands Hugo Boss and Moschino. However, she will have to increase the cost of natural gas ten times compared to last year, which she absolutely needs for dyeing and drying fabrics.

At the same time, outside the EU In the UK, the cost of gas for businesses increased by 424%, and electricity – by 349%. So everyone from hotels in Aberdeen to shops serving fried fish or chicken, deli and fried chicken pates to mushroom farms are predicting massive winter closures due to energy costs. “No one will survive,” bar and restaurant owner Paul Bright, who owns the bar and restaurant, told the British Guardian, stressing that the situation is worse than the pandemic crisis and that from December to date the electricity bill for his businesses has increased from £22,000, an amount equivalent to 26,000 euros, up to 80,000 pounds sterling, an amount equivalent to 95,000 euros.