Foreword
After a record-breaking post-pandemic year in 2022, the mood among Europeans had deteriorated by the time the 2023 Observatoire Cetelem Barometer was conducted. Hardly surprising, given the build-up of bad news and the growing CRISIS AWARENESS. Central to this darkening mood has been the return of 2-digit inflation, something not experienced in Europe for almost 40 years, with a peak occurring in October 2022 when the survey was being conducted. The consequences of the war in Ukraine, with supply chain issues affecting the availability of gas, electricity and fuel, meant that the issue of shortages made a strong return to the fore. Europeans were clearly demoralised last year, having felt the impact of various shocks.
One year on, how is morale among Europeans? How have they adapted to an increasingly gloomy political and economic climate marked by global geopolitical tension, not least the Israel-Hamas war and the risk that it may spread within the region? What is beyond doubt is that the past year has been a difficult one from a macro-economic perspective. After a very strong post-pandemic rebound in 2021 and 2022, the European Union’s economy lost momentum, growing by just 0.6%. Germany and Sweden are even set to post negative growth in 2023, at -0.3% and -0.5% respectively.
Overall, the results of this 2024 Observatoire Cetelem Barometer closely reflect this reality. Thus, the morale of Europeans remained stable at 5.1/10 (+0.1 points vs. last year), lower than the pre-Covid-19 score. For Europeans, the time has come to grit their teeth and take an organised approach by making more tough consumption choices, not least when it comes to food. But the main question is this: IS THE WORST OVER?
