Forget affordability. Europe has an availability crisis

Money to burnPhotograph: Getty Images

Dec 30th 2025|4 min read

IT is fashionable to claim that much of the rich world is suffering from an affordability crisis. The evidence presented ranges from the high prices of eggs in America and rice in Japan to costly housing just about everywhere. Europe has not been immune to such worries. In May respondents from across the eu told Eurobarometer, an official survey, that tackling inflation should be the European Parliament’s highest priority, making it more important than defence, poverty and jobs.