SOCHI, October 5. /TASS/. The standard of living for Europeans is falling, while the situation with production in European countries is something resembling a disaster, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary meeting of the Valdai international discussion club.

"The burden on the population of European countries is growing - this is obvious, as seen in data from European statistics - and the standard of living is falling. In recent months, it has decreased, as far as I remember, by 1.5%," Putin said.

"If in the USA we observe economic growth, then in Europe the situation is much worse. In 2021, the economic growth there was 4.9%, this year it will be 0.5%, and that is thanks to countries in its south. <...> Europe’s biggest economies are stagnating, with a decline in all industries. <...> There is a particularly big decline in industrial production. There, it is, if not a disaster, then a very difficult situation in real production, especially in the chemical industry, in the glass industry, in the metallurgical industry," the Russian leader said.

The President said the modest economic growth in Europe, driven by countries such as Spain and Italy, was likely due to rising real estate prices and the recovery in the tourism sector.

"In the federal republic [Germany] it is minus 0.1%, in the Baltic countries - minus 2% and minus 3%, even in Estonia, as far as I know, minus 3%, in Holland, in Austria - it’s negative everywhere," Putin added.

He noted that due to relatively cheap energy resources in the United States and administrative and financial decisions made by European Union countries, many European industries are moving to the United States. "This is what I hinted at when speaking here," the President said.

As Putin noted, Europe can continue to support Ukraine, but at the expense of "further deterioration of its economy and the lives of its citizens."