Europe’s main trade union organization has warned that the EU is in a “very worrying situation” as rising energy prices will exacerbate the continent’s industrial decline.
Early this week, eurostat survey It was revealed that industrial protection in trade blocs decreased by 0.2% in November 2023 compared to the previous month.
This was the third consecutive month of decline, and year-on-year industrial production also plunged 5.8% in the period.
Talk to EuractivLudovic Feth, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, described the crisis as a “very worrying situation”.
Union says Union economy is in a ‘worrying situation’
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He added: “This number is the canary in the coal mine. The biggest hit will be long-term investments in buildings and equipment.”
The union leader also highlighted the impact of the minimal investment in key infrastructure revealed in the Eurostat study.
In November 2023, production of capital goods such as buildings, machinery and equipment decreased by 0.8% month-on-month across the EU, following a 0.7% decline in the previous month.
Capital goods production in November was down 8.7% compared to the same period in 2022.
Mr Vought said: “The underinvestment we are seeing today is already having a dramatic impact on working communities.
“Factories are closing and jobs are being cut in the very sectors that have brought Europe to where it is today.”
His concerns were echoed by Judith Kirton Darling, acting joint general secretary of IndustriALL Europe, which represents seven million workers in the EU.
She told Euractic that her organization “has been sounding the alarm about the threat of deindustrialization and deindustrialization in Europe for some time.”
Union leaders call for more investment to support the economy
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“Worryingly, a return to austerity and austerity policies could further impede industrial development and undermine Europe’s competitiveness in global markets,” Ms Kirt-Dahling said.
Trade union leaders say the EU’s failure to control industrial decline is leaving European workers “anguished and disillusioned” and fueling the rise of the far-right on the continent.
Tobias Gehrke, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, blamed the EU’s economic woes on the energy crisis stemming from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He also noted that African countries have been unable to compete with the “luxurious industrial policies” of the United States and China, and the continent is grappling with the effects of a lack of infrastructure and skilled labor.