The economist pointed to the depressed state of European economies

The depressed state of European economies can last for years and decades, says Maxim Chirkov, Associate professor of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at GUU. The expert told Izvestia on May 21 what problems the European Union (EU) is facing.

"The European Union is turning from a leader in economic indicators and growth rates on the continent into an outsider in terms of economic growth," he stressed.

According to him, the leading EU economies are experiencing big problems. There is a decline in economic activity in many countries. In this case, the situation may deteriorate dramatically.

"Most of these problems are caused by the consequences of the sanctions, which are not only anti-Russian, but also anti-Chinese, anti-Venezuelan, anti-North Korean, and anti-Cuban. A huge number of countries are under sanctions — this is the main thing, which leads to a serious slowdown in the economies of the European Union," the economist added.

Countries are losing the attractiveness of their financial and economic infrastructure. The flow of investments that had been going on for decades until 2022 began to decline rapidly, the expert added.

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"There is also a very serious loss of competitiveness of a number of European industries in the context of, firstly, a declining opportunity for government support, because there is less money. Secondly, due to the fact that everything is becoming more expensive in Europe, especially what is included in production costs — these are different types of raw materials, fuels, and different types of energy. The European Union is becoming a depressed region for many years, if not decades, in the case of this self—destructive policy of sanctions," Chirkov said.

At the same time, he clarified that the level of prosperity, growth and economic volume that was in Europe until 2022 is unattainable even with the lifting of sanctions and the lifting of various restrictions on third countries. The fundamental foundations of economic growth in Europe are irretrievably lost.

Earlier, on May 20, the British newspaper The Spectator reported that the European Union is experiencing an economic decline comparable to a "near-death state." According to the publication, since 2000, the share of European industry in the global market has fallen from 22.5% to 14%. Also, the share of steel from EU countries has almost halved: from 7% to 4%. In addition, the number of cars produced in the association fell from 18.7 to 14 million units.