Europe must drastically cut its use of natural gas immediately, and by a total of 15 percent between now and the springtime, to prevent a major crisis as Russia slashes gas exports, the European Union’s executive branch said on Wednesday, calling for hard sacrifices by the people of the world’s richest group of nations, the New York Times reported. “Russia is blackmailing us,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said as she introduced the E.U.’s plan to reduce gas consumption.

The energy crisis unfolding in Europe is starting to weigh on a growing number of the continent’s oil, gas and utility companies, The Epoch Times reported. Uniper, Germany’s struggling natural gas utility giant, recently filed a bailout application to the government after facing significant financial challenges, according to Finnish majority owner Fortum.

The EU is set to add Russia's top lender Sberbank and the head of giant zinc and copper firm UMMC to its list of individuals and companies banned for supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to draft documents, Reuters reported. The 48 individuals and nine entities to be added to the sanctions list, prepared by the EU foreign affairs service, also include a motorcycle club, actors, politicians and family members of previously sanctioned businesspeople.

SAS and pilot unions have reached a wage deal, the Scandinavian airline confirmed on Tuesday, ending a 15-day strike over a new collective bargaining agreement that had grounded 3,700 flights and put the carrier's future in doubt, Reuters reported. Shares in SAS jumped 12% in early morning trade, but then steadied and were up around 4% at 1223 GMT. They are still down about 40% since the beginning of the year. The airline, which filed for U.S.

Russia's competition authority said on Tuesday it would fine U.S. tech giant Apple for violating Russian antitrust laws and abusing its dominant position in the app store market, Reuters reported. The federal anti-monopoly service (FAS) said it would levy a turnover-based fine against Apple, the size of which would be determined during the course of an administrative investigation. Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms' influence in the Russian market, but the simmering dispute has escalated since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Two Dutch startups, Tykn and LoCoMoGo, have declared bankruptcy this month, Silicon Canals reported. Tykn, The Hague-headquartered blockchain-based digital identity management platform, was declared bankrupt by the court in The Hague on July 14. That same day, Locomogo Holding BV, under the name Kipkemoi Enterprise BV in Amsterdam (Noord-Holland), was declared bankrupt by the court in Overijssel. Bankruptcy filings are expected to rise in 2022 as governments withdraw measures adopted to help companies stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports trade credit insurer Euler Hermes.

As a deadline approaches for Russia to resume supplying natural gas to Germany this week, European officials and executives are growing concerned about a cascading economic fallout that would spread across the continent should Moscow keep the tap shut, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Nord Stream pipeline that ferries gas from Siberia to Germany closed last Monday for annual maintenance that is expected to last 10 days.

Alphabet's Google was fined 21.1 billion roubles ($373 million) on Monday by a Moscow court for a repeated failure to remove content Russia deems illegal, such as "fake news" about the conflict in Ukraine, Russia's communications regulator said, Reuters reported. Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms' distribution of content that falls afoul of its restrictions. But the simmering dispute has erupted into a full-on battle since Moscow assembled its armed forces before sending them into Ukraine in February.

SAS and pilots unions reached a wage deal on Monday, ending a strike over a new collective bargaining agreement that has grounded hundreds of flights and thrown the airline's future into doubt, Reuters reported. A majority of SAS pilots in Sweden, Denmark and Norway walked out on July 4, triggering a strike that SAS has said cost it between $94 million and $123 million a day. "What I'm hearing from the negotiation room is that we have a deal," a spokesperson for Dansk Metal, one of the unions representing SAS pilots, told Reuters, adding the agreement was not yet finalised.

Russia's central bank is resisting domestic calls to take over the running of foreign lenders' local businesses, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, concerned in part that this could prompt depositors to pull out funds, Reuters reported.