According to data released by Eurostat on Monday, registrations of new businesses in the EU increased by 45.3 per cent in Q3 2020 when compared with Q2.
However, the number of companies declaring bankruptcy was also significantly up, increasing 25.7 per cent in Q3 over Q2.
The increase in bankruptcies reflects an overall upward trend for the figure. In comparison with the highs of 2019, the Q3 2020 figure is less than a five per cent increase.
New business registration has conversely been on a downward trend since 2015.
The country hardest hit by business bankruptcies was Estonia, which experienced an increase of 83.5 per cent on the same quarter in 2019.
Lithuania was the best off, with registered bankruptcies falling by 60.9 per cent in Q3 2020 when compared with the same period in 2019.
Figures for Malta are not currently publicly accessible, though Maltese data was used to form the overall EU aggregate.
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