GERMANY’S bosses and unions united today in opposing an immediate European Union ban on natural gas imports from Russia that would lead to factory shutdowns and the loss of jobs.

In a joint statement, DGB trade union confederation chairman Reiner Hoffmann and BDA employers’ group chairman Rainer Dulger said: “A rapid gas embargo would lead to loss of production, shutdowns, a further deindustrialisation and the long-term loss of work positions in Germany.”

They said that EU sanctions need to be targeted to put pressure on Russia over Moscow’s war on Ukraine while minimising damages to the countries imposing the sanctions, saying: “In the current discussion, we don’t see that.”