An Empirical Analysis of the European Union's Economy and Politics in the Context of the War in Ukraine

Abstract Crises will always change society. Since 2020, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy has had many trials to overcome. Likewise, the values of states or state alliances prioritizing their citizens' medical, social, and economic well-being have also been tested. The European Union was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but two years after its appearance, another critical event would accentuate the existing problems and put it in great difficulty. This critical event is the war started by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022. Given the desire Ukraine expressed since 2014 through the EUROMAIDAN movement, the EU could not remain indifferent to what was happening there, and from the very first moments of the war, it showed its support for economic, military, and diplomatic relations towards Ukraine. Thus, the second economic power of the world had to put the decent living and well-being of its citizens to the test in order to save its people. However, it is crucial how much the standard of living of the Europeans suffered compared to the citizens of the states that also contributed to helping Ukraine. Through a difference-in-difference analysis (DID), this article aims to observe how large the discrepancy was between the sacrifice made by Europeans compared to the sacrifice made by other people regarding the values of the consumer price index and consumer confidence index. One thing is sure: regardless of cost, people's freedom, peace, and life are priceless.