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Germany's energy crisis threatens a family-run business
04:44

The conflict in Ukraine has provoked an unprecedented energy crisis for the EU, where there's been a sharp rise in prices. 

According to Germany's Federal Statistical Office, since Berlin began cutting the country's dependence on cheap Russian energy, gas prices for non-household customers have increased by nearly 39 percent. Meanwhile, electricity has gone up by 19 percent. 

Many small and medium-sized businesses, already struggling to recoup losses from COVID-19, are being weighed down further by these increases. Thomas Petermann, who owns a butcher shop in the western German state of Saarland, says he's unsure whether he'll be able to pass the family business down to his son. 

Like Thomas, people across Germany are now increasingly concerned about the future.

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