A survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) has found that the majority of German entrepreneurs believe that the European Union (EU) has lost its attractiveness as a place to do business. The agency reported this on March 20 Bloomberg.
The survey showed that about 56% of the 3 thousand German firms surveyed reported that the EU's competitiveness as a place to do business has worsened over the past 5 years, and only 7% see an improvement, the agency reported.
It is noted that manufacturing companies are particularly dissatisfied with the economic conditions for business in the EU. Their representatives complained about rising wages due to high energy prices, as well as “excessive bureaucracy and trade barriers.”
“Despite its initially good starting position, Europe risks losing its competitive advantage in the international arena. This trend must be stopped immediately,” Bloomberg quotes DIHK Managing Director Martin Wanslben as saying.
On Tuesday, March 19, at an event organized by German industry lobby BDI, German Deputy Economics Minister Franziska Brantner noted that the next European Commission must address the integration of the European single market, which “is not yet good enough.”
“We need to identify which bureaucratic procedures can be simplified and speeded up,” said Brantner, answering the question of how to make Europe more competitive.
Earlier, on March 19, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for putting the EU economy on a war footing. He said that the EU summit, which will be held on March 21 and 22, should make a decision on transferring the union’s economy to a military footing, increasing spending on armaments for all countries of the community and accelerating the supply of shells to Kyiv.
On November 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the European Union had lost at least €250 billion in a year and a half due to sanctions against the Russian Federation. The number of sanctions restrictions against Russia has exceeded more than 17 thousand, the minister noted.
In September 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that high inflation and rising energy prices were putting pressure on the country's economy. In October, he called on EU leaders to think about limiting the bloc's spending.
Western countries are faced with rising energy and food prices after the introduction of sanctions against Russia. They made the decision on restrictions in connection with a special operation to protect Donbass.
Watch more current videos and details about the situation in Donbass on the Izvestia TV channel.
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