The above, based on 2017 GDP per capita data, uses East Germany, long considered a benchmark for post-socialist economic recovery, as a reference point, set at approximately €30,300 per person. Regions shown in red fall below that threshold.

Following reunification in 1990, East Germany inherited outdated infrastructure , lower productivity, and weaker industrial capacity. Since then, the German government has invested more than €2 trillion in reconstruction, subsidies, and regional development.

While income gaps between eastern and western Germany persist, East Germany’s GDP per capita now exceeds that of many EU regions.

According to Eurostat, several regions in Southern Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Eastern Europe , and the Balkans continue to trail behind eastern German states in output per person.

The map underscores long-standing structural challenges. Many red-marked regions are affected by low industrial diversification, weaker transport links, ageing populations, and chronic underinvestment.

In Southern Europe, the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis slowed recovery for more than a decade. In Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the legacy of post-socialist transition and limited capital inflows continues to constrain growth.

The European Commission has repeatedly acknowledged that regional inequality within the EU remains high, even as national averages improve. Wealth tends to concentrate in capital cities and export-driven regions, leaving rural and peripheral areas behind.

“We are fighting today the battle that the Maccabees fought,” Netanyahu said, adding that their victory was central not only to Judaism but also to what he described as the foundations of Judeo-Christian civilisation. He argued that the failure of the Maccabees would have altered the course of world history and the development of societies based on freedom.

Netanyahu said the same spirit underpins the actions of Israeli forces confronting threats on multiple fronts. He said Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza, Lebanon and against Iran were motivated not only by the need to protect the Jewish people and the Israeli state, but also by what he described as a broader fight to defend civilisation.

The Israeli leader also connected the conflict in the Middle East to antisemitic violence abroad, referencing a deadly attack during a Hanukkah event in Australia.

“They did a horrible thing to us on October 7,” Netanyahu said, adding that similar violence was being directed at Jewish communities in places such as Sydney and the United States . He described the situation as a shared struggle against what he called “barbarians,” expressing confidence that Israel would prevail.

Netanyahu’s comments came a day after a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney during a Hanukkah gathering left 16 people dead. Australian authorities said the attackers were a father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son was arrested and remains in custody.