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2023: Europe's year explained in charts and data

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2023: Europe's year explained in charts and data

Dampened economic prospects, two raging wars and extreme weather events have all deeply affected Europe in 2023.

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Whilst the cost of living crisis showed signs of abating in 2023 as inflation figures cooled, economies considered amongst Europe’s most resilient came under immense pressure due to the impact of inflation on consumer spending.

2023 also saw far-right parties make small but solid gains across the continent, building momentum ahead of the 2024 European elections.

July, the hottest year on record, brought with it extreme wildfires to southern Europe. The bloc has since started to increase its aerial firefighting fleet in preparation for increasingly scorching summers.

Euronews takes a look at Europe’s year in 2023 through data.

Cost of living crisis cooled

After prices sky-rocketed in 2022 amid the energy crisis brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 2023 saw inflation cool across the continent.

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Whilst the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia continued to grapple with high consumer prices until the year’s end, inflation across the bloc’s 27 member states fell three-fold from an average 9.9% in February to 3.1% in November.

The drop was driven by a particularly steep decrease in the cost of energy, which fell 11.5% year-on-year in the euro area in November 2023, the biggest decline since 2020.

A consistent decrease in food prices also brought some respite to consumers, after the surge in the prices of household staples in 2022.

Economies came under pressure

But stubbornly high inflation throughout 2022 and early 2023 took its toll on Europe’s economies, with tightened belts curbing consumption and investments.

The 19-country euro area entered a technical recession in June after two consecutive quarters of decline, driven by soaring energy prices. It continued to contract in the third quarter, while the European Union’s economy stagnated.

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The downturn was driven by disappointing economic performance in Europe’s industrial powerhouse, Germany. According to its government’s estimations, Germany’s economy is expected to shrink by 0.4% in 2023, while the EU executive foresees a slightly smaller contraction of 0.3%.

Far-right slowly gained ground

2023 saw Europe’s far-right make small but solid gains, gaining momentum that could translate into electoral success in key elections taking place in 2024.

Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a historic local election victory in the in the central state of Thuringia in June and its first mayoral election in a city in December.

Geert Wilders caught many in Europe off guard when he snatched a surprise electoral victory in November’s Dutch election, leaving him in pole position in ongoing coalition government talks.

With support on the rise in countries such as France and Austria, far-right parties could be eyeing important gains in next June’s European elections.

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Europe boiled

July was the hottest month the world has ever seen, pushing the average global sea temperature up to a new record of 20.98ºC. 

Spain saw sea temperatures reach a scorching 31.21ºC in Dragonera, the Balearic islands.

With the scorching heat came devastating wildfires. The largest wildfire ever recorded in the EU raged in north-eastern Greece in August, as the EU mobilised half of its aerial firefighting fleet to contain the blaze.

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Venezuela releases all known American detainees after Maduro’s capture and government takeover

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Venezuela releases all known American detainees after Maduro’s capture and government takeover

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All known American citizens being held in Venezuela have been released, the U.S. Embassy said Friday evening. 

“We are pleased to confirm the release by the interim authorities of all known U.S. citizens held in Venezuela,” the embassy wrote on X. “Should you have information regarding any other U.S. citizens still detained, please contact American Citizen Services.”

No other details about the detainees were disclosed. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department. 

VENEZUELA’S DELCY RODRÍGUEZ SNAPS AT WASHINGTON, DECLARES ‘ENOUGH’ OF US INFLUENCE

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Venezuelans burn a U.S. flag after the announcement of the U.S. attacks and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.  The U.S. government on Friday said all known Americans being detained in the country had been released.  (Stringer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Interim authorities have slowly released American detainees in the weeks since the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Both are being held in New York City on federal narco-terrorism charges. 

Earlier this month, Venezuela’s interim government reported that 116 prisoners had been released, although only about 70 have been verified by the non-governmental organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, according to Bloomberg.

STATE DEPT CONFIRMS ‘LIMITED NUMBER’ OF PERSONNEL IN CARACAS WORKING TO RESUME VENEZUELA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

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Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores parade in a military vehicle during celebrations for Independence Day in Caracas July 5, 2025.  (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, the U.S. government announced a travel alert advising against travel to the country. Americans in the country were advised to depart immediately. 

“The security situation in Venezuela remains fluid. The U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela, reiterating warnings against travel to Venezuela dating to 2019. As international flights have resumed, U.S. citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately.”

The country is being run by Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former lieutenant. 

This week, Rodriguez signed a law overhauling the nation’s oil sector, opening it to privatization and reversing a core policy of the socialist government that has ruled Venezuela for more than two decades.

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The State Department told Fox News a “limited number” of people are working on the ground in Venezuela. (Reuters)

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On Jan. 10, President Donald Trump said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s “rotting” oil infrastructure and push production to record levels.

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Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians across Gaza, attacks reported in Rafah

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Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians across Gaza, attacks reported in Rafah

Multiple attacks across the besieged enclave a day before Israel is expected to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

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At least 12 Palestinians, half of them children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since dawn, a day before the Rafah crossing is due to reopen.

An Israeli air strike on Saturday on a tent sheltering displaced people in the al-Mawasi area to the northwest of Khan Younis city killed at least seven Palestinians, including three children, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

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Their bodies were taken to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

In Gaza City, emergency services reported that at least five Palestinians, including three children, were killed in an Israeli air strike on an apartment building in the Remal neighbourhood to the west of the city.

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Eight Palestinians were also injured in an Israeli bombing of an apartment building in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Gaza’s Government Media Office says at least 524 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since a United States-brokered ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on October 10.

Rafah reopening

Residents in the border town of Rafah also reported several air attacks in areas under Israeli control. Israel is due to reopen the Rafah crossing, which links Gaza with Egypt, on Sunday for the first time since May 2024.

The opening of the key entry point is part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It was meant to open during the first phase of the ceasefire, but Israel refused to do so until the body of its last remaining captive was found.

Israel on Saturday said it would only allow a “limited movement of people” who have received security clearance by Israel to enter and exit. No aid or humanitarian supplies will be allowed to enter.

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“Only those who fled during the past two years are allowed to come back,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud explained. “Those who are born outside the Gaza Strip are not going to be allowed to come back.”

Hamas responded to the Rafah announcement by calling for Israel to allow movement in and out of Gaza “without restrictions”, and urged it to adhere to all aspects of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 71,600 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

(Al Jazeera)
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Video: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

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Video: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

new video loaded: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

The actor Hudson Williams gave Prime Minister Mark Carney a fictional Canada Olympic Team fleece jacket that his character wore on “Heated Rivalry,” which has become a global phenomenon.

By Axel Boada

January 30, 2026

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