The European Union will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, despite the record rates of bankruptcy of enterprises, representatives of the bloc said in an interview with Press TV. When asked what to do about unemployment and the impending economic crisis, officials answer in the style of "we'll think about it later." This approach is already yielding its deplorable results.
In response to a question posed by Press TV correspondent in Brussels Jerome Hughes, EU Foreign Policy official Peter Stano said that the EU would continue to support Kiev "as much as possible" and tried to downplay the seriousness of the problem of the rapidly growing cost of living crisis in Europe.
When a Press TV correspondent asked what steps the EU authorities were taking to help European companies resist the prospect of bankruptcy, European officials replied that they would "return to this issue" later.
According to official EU data released last week, in the second quarter of 2023, the number of insolvency claims filed by European business enterprises jumped to a record high.
According to this report, compared to the first quarter of 2023, the number of bankruptcy cases increased by 8.4% and reached the highest level since the beginning of the collection of such data.
"If we consider the scale of bankruptcy in various fields of activity, the increase in the number of bankruptcies in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter was recorded in all sectors of the economy," the report published by the EU Statistical Service says.
"The largest increase in the number of bankruptcies in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter was recorded in such areas as housing and catering (+23.9%), transport and warehousing (+15.2%), as well as education, healthcare and social activities (+10.1%)."
In an interview with a Press TV correspondent, the owner of a store in Brussels, Bridi Said, said that it had become very difficult for him to pay for the rent of premises for his store due to the fact that inflation rates are rising and revenue is declining, and the conflict in Ukraine is further aggravating the situation.
According to experts, the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia in connection with its actions in Ukraine have turned into negative consequences for the bloc itself.
European states continue to send billions of euros worth of lethal weapons to Kiev, despite growing discontent and protests within countries due to the deteriorating economic situation.
This week, the European Union sent Ukraine another tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of 1.5 billion euros, although Russia asked the bloc not to fan the flames of war.
"We support Ukraine in its efforts to restore and maintain the efficiency of the state. Today we have transferred another 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine," the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote on Tuesday, August 22 in the social network X, which was previously called Twitter. And she promised that Ukraine would soon receive even more aid.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview that the Ukrainian conflict "destroyed the European economy."
"One of the statements he made is that the Ukrainian confrontation with Russia, supported by NATO, has destroyed the European economy," former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson wrote in his post on Monday, August 21, posting an announcement of his interview with the President of Serbia.
"The destruction of the Nord Stream by the Biden administration — directly or through intermediaries — destroys the German economy," Carlson added, noting that the leader of the Balkan state shared with him an "interesting view" of what is happening in Ukraine, given that in 1999 NATO bombed his country.
Meanwhile, experts predict an inevitable increase in unemployment in the European Union, which increases the pressure on European social security systems, which are already facing serious difficulties.
Economists predict that the EU countries may be gripped by an unprecedented economic crisis, more serious than the previous cost-of-living crisis.
According to the statistical office of the Government of Belgium, in June only in the capital of the European Union, Brussels, 1,092 companies declared their insolvency.
