EU officials warn of economic slowdown
The oil crisis and high prices are slowing down the European economy, and a recession is expected at least through the winter, said Paolo Gentiloni, the European Commissioner for the Economy, on Monday.
EU officials warn of economic slowdown
The oil crisis and high prices are slowing down the European economy, and a recession is expected at least through the winter, said Paolo Gentiloni, the European Commissioner for the Economy, on Monday.
At a news conference for the Eurogroup, Gentiloni stated, “If we look at high-frequency indicators and the economic sentiment, we find that many things indicate to a downturn in economic activity this winter.”
According to Paschal Donohoe, head of the Eurogroup, everyone is aware that the euro area’s economy is slowing down. The region’s economy grew by 0.5 percent in October.
The 19-nation euro area’s finance ministers gathered on Monday in Brussels to examine the economic growth of the eurozone and fiscal measures to lessen the effects of rising energy prices.
According to estimates by the Commission, the governments of the euro area have so far spent around 200 billion euros collectively, or 1.25 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union (EU), on energy support for the year.
According to Gentiloni, the member states have so far enacted almost 70% of supportive measures that are untargeted, meaning “they help all, or a very substantial share, of the population.”
“We are conscious that, politically and technically, targeting is not always simple, especially if you need to react rapidly. This is also the reason we anticipate this targeting of initiatives to get better over the next few months,” he continued.
According to Donohoe, the ministers were aware of the difficulties in providing substantial measures and balancing the trade-off between cutting inflation and protecting both vulnerable people and the international competitiveness of the euro area.
