European Commission Daily News 11th Feb

Economic forecast for winter 2021: After a difficult winter, light at the end of the tunnel

Europe remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. The upsurge in the number of cases, coupled with the appearance of new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus, has forced many Member States to reintroduce containment measures or to tighten them up. On the other hand, the launch of vaccination programs across the European Union allows for cautious optimism. According to the winter 2021 economic forecast, the euro area economy will grow by 3.8% in both 2021 and 2022. As for the EU economy, its growth is expected to be 3, 7% in 2021 and 3.9% in 2022. Eurozone and EU economies are expected to return to pre-crisis production levels earlier than predicted in the autumn 2020 economic forecast, mainly thanks to a more vigorous growth dynamic than anticipated for the second half of 2021 and the year 2022. After showing strong growth in the third quarter of 2020, economic activity contracted again in the fourth quarter, when a second wave of the pandemic triggered new containment measures. With these measures still in place, both the EU and the euro area economy are expected to contract in the first quarter of 2021. Economic growth is expected to pick up in the spring and intensify in the summer, as the economy progresses. progress of vaccination programs and relaxation of containment measures. The recovery should also be supported by improving prospects for the global economy. A press release in all languages ​​and the economic forecasts for winter 2021 are available online.

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