The 2022 energy shock massively accelerated nearly every major weakness in the European economic model. Before the war: → ~55% of German gas imports came from Russia → The eurozone ran a current account surplus of roughly ~3% of GDP → Germany’s industrial model depended on cheap imported energy + export manufacturing → Europe imported nearly 60% of its total energy needs from abroad Even in 2025–2026: → EU industrial electricity prices remained over 2x U.S. levels for energy-intensive sectors → The eurozone current account collapsed from a pre-war surplus of roughly ~3% of GDP into near-balance/deficit in 2022, before only partially recovering to ~1.7–2.0% by 2025 → German industry continued facing structural stagnation, weak industrial output and competitiveness pressure Europe’s long-term priority must be energy sovereignty through electrification, renewables, nuclear, storage, hydrogen and pan-European grid interconnections to reduce external energy dependence well below 25% over the next 15–20 years. This is why Europe’s single most important long-term strategic priority is energy sovereignty. There is no more fundamental issue than this.