The rapidly increasing numbers of bankruptcies are alarming

16 February 2023 - On today's publication of the new EU bankruptcy figures by Eurostat, BusinessEurope’s Director General Markus J. Beyrer stated: “The rapidly increasing numbers of bankruptcies are alarming”.

“The speed at which numbers of bankruptcies are increasing is alarming. It is the highest rate of bankruptcies in the EU since data on these started to be collected. The air to breathe is becoming increasingly tight, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Many bankruptcies have been artificially postponed due to government support measures in the wake of the Corona pandemic; these are now coming to an end. However, bankruptcies due to the triple shock of high energy costs, high material and production costs and rising labour costs are worrying.

Instead of fighting the symptoms with imprecise measures in the short term, Europe needs a pragmatic plan to quickly improve the business framework conditions and create incentives for investment. A volatile environment remains to be expected in the coming years. Energy costs, for example, will not return to the pre-pandemic levels anytime soon. To strengthen the innovative power of companies and promote competitiveness, the EU must pull three levers at the same time: reduce the regulatory burden by simplifying regulations and bureaucracy, speed up permitting and access to finance for all industry sectors, and reduce energy costs.”