The Christmas lights are glowing in the streets but for many Europeans the life is losing its shine, Deutsche Welle reports.
A European resident who did not want to give his name to Deutsche Welle said:
“With the inflation everything goes higher like the price for a living.”
A young woman said Deutsche Welle how her life has changed in 2023:
“I know that I have to invest more than I did before. So, I am I bit concerned about it because I still have high standards of food, living.”
An opinion poll earlier this month showed 73 percent of Europeans think that their spending on living will go down next year. 4 in 10 people surveyed in this poll said sometimes or most of the time they have difficulties with paying bills.
Inflation and high energy prices brought on by the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine hit budget very hard but Europeans actually are doing better than expected. Economy isn’t striving. Worse fears have lessened. The big picture is less bad than initially thought.
Despite the gloominess, there are some reasons for optimism. Wages are growing and inflation is dropping. Rebecca Christie, interviewed by Deutsche Welle, said:
“Europe overall is pretty comfortable now. A part of what makes you upgrade is a part of what makes you challenging.”
Alexander de Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, said:
“If you look at EU in global, we are a wealthy continent. We have very high purchasing power.”
Europe’s position as an economic superpower is being tested in the face of crisis. But so far the continent has shown more resilience than predicted.
