Europe’s economy will return to the pre-pandemic level of 2019 in the coming year. This is what the EU Commission wrote in its spring report, which was presented in Brussels on Wednesday. EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni wants more than just a correction.
The return to the level of 2019 is very good, but it is below the growth forecasts from two to three years ago. The great efforts had finally been made to have stronger and more sustainable growth for the years to come.
According to the Commission’s forecast, the EU economy will grow by 4.2 percent this year and 4.4 percent next year. In the eurozone, the economy will grow by 4.3 percent in 2021 and 4.4 percent in 2022.
The first distributions from the coronavirus recovery fund could be made as early as the second half of July, said Gentiloni. In seven member states, however, the relevant legislation still has to be ratified.
The fund is so far unique, but it can be seen as a model for future challenges.
If everything went well and the loans were repaid with additional own funds, then the same method of joint borrowing could also be used in future for joint crisis management.
Despite all the optimism that has been put forward, there is still a risk. Because the economic contingency plan could collapse like a house of cards if new mutations of the corona virus triggered a new crisis. So it all depends on the successful fight against Covid.
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