Rising energy prices could lead to mass poverty in the European Union (EU), according to a professor at the University of Liege in Belgium, who spoke to the French news site Atlantico on August 29, 2022. Damien Ernst has warned that there are no signs that the situation will improve after this winter.
Ernst predicts that EU households will fall behind on their energy bills. He believes that the “perfect storm” that has formed in energy markets will have a significant economic impact on households and businesses.
Ernst suggested that in Belgium, households on average will be paying €10,000 (US$10,000) a year for power and heating.
He also predicted that the energy crisis would be far worse than the 2008 financial crisis and the oil shocks of the 1970s, adding, “This will have economic consequences, especially for purchasing power, and lead to financial constraints.” With such a jump in energy prices, “it will be impossible to control inflation,” Ernst warned.
Power prices in Europe have continued to hit new highs, exacerbating the region’s energy crisis and fueling concerns about access to electricity and heating as the weather cools.
The editor underlined that Indonesia’s Foreign Debt (ULN) until the first quarter of 2022 reached US$411.5 billion. This is equivalent to IDR6,007.9 trillion (exchange rate of IDR14,600/US$). Several European countries that provide debt to Indonesia, namely the Netherlands, amounting to US$5.3 billion, Germany at US$5.2 billion; France at US$3.9 billion and the United Kingdom at US$3.8 billion. If these debt-giving European countries experience the threat of “mass poverty” then they can just urge Indonesia to immediately pay its debts to these European countries.
