BRUSELAS, 9 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, considered this Friday that it is “clear” that the risk of recession has increased although he does not believe that it is an “inevitable” possibility in the current economic context, an analysis that coincides with that of the ministers of Economy and Finance of the Eurozone.
“It is not that a recession is inevitable but, honestly, the risk has clearly increased,” said the commissioner at a press conference offered from Prague at the end of the informal meeting of ministers of Economy and Finance of the euro zone (Eurogroup) .
The Italian socialist has said that, despite “growing obstacles”, the euro zone economy remained “firm” in the first half of the year, with GDP growth of 0.7% in the first quarter and 0.8% in the second; while employment has continued to grow and unemployment has reached a “historic low”.
However, he has conceded that the latest indicators point to a slowdown “in the coming months”, especially due to the impact of the rise in energy prices, which, together with the 9.1% increase in inflation, has “eroded ” purchasing power, hurting both European households and businesses.
In any case, Gentiloni has also pointed out that governments are responding with a wide range of measures to support the increase in energy prices, actions with a net fiscal cost of 0.9% of the EU’s GDP at the end of summer that “it will certainly increase substantially before the end of the year”.
In the same appearance before the media, the president of the Eurogroup and Irish minister, Pascal Donohoe, also pointed out a “risk of recession in the future”, although he specified that the consensus is that there will be “less growth, but not an unavoidable recession.
“What we must do is find a balance between supporting the effort to reduce inflation and doing what we can to support growth”, explained Donohoe, who has insisted that the Eurogroup admits that “there is a risk of recession, but recession is not inevitable.
