Europe needs €500 billion after losing top bond buyer

As winter is coming, European governments are developing assistance programs. That step was taken in order to protect and support their citizens from a sharp increase in energy prices. In France, there are ceiling prices for electricity, and in Italy there are discounts on petrol. In Germany, there are subsidies for heating bills.

The implementation of these measures requires a large outlay of money. For this reason, the region's financing needs have been increasing for several years in a row, which adds up to higher figures for previous years. The problem with the lack of funds, however, is that the European Central Bank used to print money and buy as many bonds as required. Now governments are forced to look for new investors.

Analysts estimate that this will force governments to sell more new debt on the bond market next year — more than 500 billion euros. And investors, spooked by a spike in inflation, are now unable to tolerate the fiscal largesse.