The main reason is the wrong European policies, the most important of which is its support for Ukraine to continue the Russian-Ukrainian war 56 months ago, which Europe paid the energy bill from gas almost 3 times and oil with an increase of more than 50%
Europe, which emerged from the corona pandemic with a weak economy, collided with that war, which had a negative impact on the economy, in terms of the high energy bill, which was reflected on thousands of factories and companies were closed, some supply chains were disrupted, investors fled and Ukraine’s logistical and military support was depleted, and most importantly, the defense budget was increased on average from 1.5% to 5% per country in order to rebuild a European defense system that does not depend on its ally the United States, not forgetting the debt service bill that also rose for each country. These effects were paid for by the European citizen.
We will discuss, but not limited to, one of those European countries that have been affected by this, namely France, and we will highlight the causes of the deterioration of its economy in the last 5 years:
1.France lost relations with allied African countries that used to secure raw materials for industries and energy sources for France, such as Uranium, and also lost other agricultural inputs, raw materials and minerals, not to mention African markets, some of which were closed to French exports.
2.Logistical and military support to Ukraine in tens of billions of euros.
3.Increasing the defense budget from 1.5% to about 5% of GDP, as France allocated from its budget for next year 2027 an amount of 63.4 billion euros for military spending, compared to 57 billion euros during the current year.
4.French indebtedness exceeded 115% of GDP, and the debt service bill increased.
5.Closing various companies and factories and reducing production, especially car factories such as Renault, Citroen and Peugeot, because of their inability to compete, especially after flooding the world market with Chinese cars .
6.Western countries, including France, adhere to environmental and emissions regulations and laws, unlike the United States and China, which have affected French industries.
7.The British exit from the European Union, which affected France being the closest to Britain through previously concluded economic agreements.
8.Trump’s policy of raising tariffs on French imports.
9.The gas bill has tripled on average and the oil bill has halved increase.
10.The failure of the austerity policies previously adopted by the French government.
11.The loss of investment appetite within France for futility.
By reviewing the reasons for the deterioration of the European economy in general and the French economy in particular was the result of wrong European policies of supporting an absurd war on its territory, Europe has lost global competition in the industrial sector, Germany is also not in better shape than France, where the automotive industry suffered from global competition and closed companies and factories.
In conclusion, we should not forget about the loss of the European role in the Middle East to reduce tension, which indirectly affected the European economy .
The European Union should reconsider its foreign policies towards the world to be more independent and effective, not to be drawn behind alliances that reflect negatively on its economy, and end any military escalation within the Old Continent that leads to further economic depletion.
GM at Jobkins Center for Strategic Studies.
Expert, strategic and economic analyst.
Engineer Mohannad Abbas Haddadin
