Well over one-third of Europeans have been left struggling to pay their bill amid the ongoing cost inflation crisis, a government survey has revealed.
A survey conducted on behalf of the European Union has found that well over one-third of Europeans have at one point struggled to pay their bills in the year prior to the poll taking place.
Although unseasonably warm weather on the continent has meant that the bloc has largely avoided major power shortages, huge numbers of EU citizens have nevertheless struggled to deal with the heightened price of food, fuel and services caused by the ongoing energy crisis.
The scale of such financial difficulty is easily seen in the results of the bloc’s latest Eurobarometer survey, with the EU-wide study revealing that 39 per cent of people struggled to pay at least one bill.
Released on Thursday, the data from the polling taken over autumn 2022 shows that the ongoing cost of living crisis throughout the bloc is the single biggest worry for 93 per cent of Europeans, with just under 10 per cent saying they now frequently struggle to pay their bills.
Things are even worse in some of the bloc’s more easterly states, with as many as 86 per cent of respondents in Greece saying they have struggled to pay at least one bill.
Overall, 46 per cent of respondents claim that they have seen their standard of living reduced since the bloc was hit by the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine war.
The statistics likely make for some sobering reading for many senior politicians and officials within the European Union who have seen the prosperity of the bloc tank.
It also shows that rapid inflation throughout the continent has left a lasting impact on people’s finances.
However, this may no longer result in a recession, at least according to U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, with Reuters reporting the firm is no longer expecting the bloc to fall into recession in 2023.
“We maintain our view that Euro area growth will be weak over the winter months given the energy crisis but no longer look for a technical recession,” one economist for the banking giant reportedly said.
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