“The effects of the crisis will be felt for decades even if there is an economic upturn.”

Europe is sinking into a protracted period of deepening poverty, mass unemployment, social exclusion, inequality and collective despair, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

In a stark new analysis, the IFRC says Europe’s response to the debt and currency crisis is creating the continent’s worst humanitarian crisis in six decades.Think differently: Humanitarian impacts of the economic crisis in Europe  says millions of people are still falling into poverty five years after the start of the economic crisis.

The study reveals a decline into sustained poverty throughout the continent, not just in Ireland and other countries  typically associated with the economic crisis. It gives the example of France, where 350,000 people have fallen below the poverty line since 2009. It says this trend is mirrored in many other countries, including relatively wealthy states like Germany, Luxembourg and parts of Scandinavia.

The IFRC distributed food aid to 3.5 million Europeans in 22 countries last year, an increase of 75% compared to 2009. Hundreds of thousands more are being assisted with advice, financial and material help. "Whilst other continents successfully reduce poverty, Europe adds to it. The long-term consequences of this crisis have yet to surface. The problems caused will be felt for decades even if the economy turns for the better in the near future," it says.

Turmoil

IFRC secretary general Bekele Geleta said people’s lives had been thrown into turmoil. “There seems to be a gradual degradation, with millions existing on a day-to-day basis, with no savings and no buffer to withstand any unforeseen expenses,” he said.

The study finds that, in Greece and Spain, adult children with families are moving back in with their parents with several generations living in single households with one breadwinner.  The study says it is now a common sight to find formerly prosperous middle class people  sleeping rough in Milan, Italy's financial capital.

It charts a gradual economic degradation throughout Europe, with increasing numbers of working poor, who have some income but struggle to make ends meet. It says many middle class Europeans have spiralled downward into poverty with more people becoming poor and the poor getting poorer.

It says unemployment is the most debilitating issue facing the EU. The number out of work for longer than a year stands at 11 million out of a total EU unemployment figure of more than 26 million. In a quarter of the countries surveyed, youth unemployment ranged from 33% to over 60%. Meanwhile, unemployment among workers aged 50-64 has risen from 2.8 million to 4.6 million between 2008 and 2012.

"The rate at which unemployment figures have risen in the past 24 months alone is an indication that the crisis is deepening, with severe personal costs as a consequence, and possible unrest and extremism as a risk. Combined with increasing living costs, this is a dangerous combination," it says.