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A cyclist walks past the Eiffel Tower after a light snowfall overnight.
LUDOVIC MARIN | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – The European Commission has turned more negative about its outlook for the euro area economy, forecasting a lower growth rate for the region in 2021 as governments grapple with new variants of the coronavirus.
The Brussels-based institution expects the 19-member region to experience 3.8% growth this year. In November, he forecast a GDP (gross domestic product) rate of 4.2% for 2021.
The latest forecast comes at a difficult time for the European Union, as the rollout of its Covid vaccine faces production, supply and paperwork issues. At the same time, European governments are worried about mutations in the virus deemed to be more contagious. The longer the health emergency lasts, the more EU countries must extend social restrictions and lockdowns, which has negative consequences for the economy.
“We remain in the painful grip of the pandemic, the social and economic consequences of which are too obvious. Yet there is finally light at the end of the tunnel,” Paolo Gentiloni, commissioner for economic affairs said in a statement on Thursday. . relationship with vaccine deployments.
Going forward, the European Commission expects the 2022 euro area GDP to reach 3.8%, after projecting a GDP rate of 3% for next year in November.
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