Germany sticks to the dual rhetoric. Berlin is not officially involved in the actual warfare but in practice, it makes a difference to Ukraine. Germany’s contribution has drained the public purse by €100 billion for the year of the large-scale geopolitical conflict.
Since the outbreak of Russia’s invasion, Berlin has initiated a plethora of sanctions, restrictions, price ceilings, and other administrative measures. No wonder, the German economy has to pay the dear price for such unconditional support. Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research, highlighted Germany’s humongous losses in an interview with Rheinische Post. “The Ukraine war and the associated explosion in energy prices cost Germany almost 2.5 per cent or 100 billion euros in economic output in 2022. These costs will continue to grow in the coming years,” the economist said. “Germany is economically more affected by the crisis because it has been more dependent on Russian energy, has a high proportion of energy-intensive industry and is extremely dependent on exports and global supply chains,” the experts commented on Germany’s economic vulnerability.
To sum up, decent European taxpayers should brace for the budget deficit in a few years ahead. Recently, Ukraine’s President appealed to Germany, France, and Italy to provide investments for rebuilding the crippled Ukrainian economy. Ukraine’s leader welcomed EU companies, urging them to participate in the reconstruction.
