The European Statistical Office (Eurostat) has released company bankruptcy data for the second quarter of 2023.
Accordingly, in the said period, the number of company bankruptcies in EU countries increased by 8.4 percent compared to the previous quarter, reaching the highest level measured since 2015, when data began to be collected.
In the second quarter, corporate bankruptcies in all sectors of the economy increased compared to the previous quarter. According to the fields of activity, the highest increase in bankruptcies was in accommodation and catering services with 23.9 percent, transportation and storage with 15.2 percent, and education, health and social activities with 10.1 percent.
Compared to the previous quarter, the countries with the highest increase in bankruptcy filings were Hungary (40.8 percent), Latvia (24.8 percent) and Estonia (24.6 percent).
Thus, the number of bankruptcy declarations of businesses in EU countries has increased over the last 6 quarters.
The number of new company openings also decreased by 0.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter.
The reasons such as the energy crisis in Europe and the high cost of living brought about by the increase in inflation, especially in food prices, contribute to the increase in bankruptcies across the EU.
