Up to 1.3 million jobs across the EU are at risk due to the ongoing war in the Middle East ’, European ’'s chief business officer Roxana Mînzatu said on Wednesday.
The warning came during the presentation of the 2026 Spring Semester Package’, which is issued twice a year by the EU administration and provides guidance to the 27 member states on the bloc's economic priorities.
"Up to 1.3 million jobs are at risk, especially in energy-intensive industries, due to the war in the “ Middle East," ’ said at a news conference.
Commissioner, I would also like to underline that increasing energy costs will have a particularly negative impact on low-income households in Europe“; Therefore, we recommend that all member states take targeted measures so that they can support vulnerable groups, ” added.
The conflict, which began with Israel and the US ’ attacking Iran ’ in late February of this year, has already had tangible effects on the European economy, resulting in higher energy prices. According to the latest European economic forecasts released in May, the war slowed European ’'s growth while raising inflation.
Economic data on growth and inflation vary widely across the EU, and the Commission considers this inequality a threat to competitiveness.
The main priorities
The package allocates an important place to employment, focuses on supporting quality jobs and how EU countries can overcome the lack of skilled workers in strategically important sectors.
In the Term Pack, “ continues to be key priorities for improving educational outcomes and better aligning people's skills with labor market needs, as well as addressing workforce and skills shortages that are particularly severe in strategic sectors such as cybersecurity, quantum, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors.”
At the press conference, Mînzatu said that 77% of European companies reported that skills shortages continue to be a significant obstacle to investment. He said the main reason for these shortcomings was poor working conditions.
"We can't attract talent, we can't reduce deficits, we can't increase people's earnings without making sure we have good working conditions," “ said.
A competitive move
Since the beginning of this mandate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made competitiveness one of the Commission's highest priorities as geopolitical uncertainties increase.
The latest Semester Package reflects this and focuses on how Europe can strengthen ’'s position on the global stage.
In particular, the bloc wants to reduce economic barriers in the single market, create a more business-friendly environment for companies and capital, and minimize strategic dependencies, particularly on China and the United States.
To this end, the Commission is pushing member states towards a more robust industrial policy, more investment in capital markets, and a simplification agenda that will reduce administrative burdens in both the private and public sectors, among other things.
In parallel, the Commission is working to accelerate economic reforms at the EU level, but progress depends largely on the willingness of member states to act; This is a long-standing coordination problem.
