Friday

29th Mar 2024

Economic outlook worse than expected

The European Commission has had to revise its economic forecast for this year in light of the difficulties that Member States, such as Germany, are still facing. Policymakers now say that the euro zone will only grow by about 0.5 percent, rather than the 1 percent they had originally envisaged.

On Tuesday, the Commission said that the economy shrank in the second quarter, only the second time this has happened since the introduction of the single currency in 1999.

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In its analysis of the economic climate in the euro zone, the International Herald Tribune suggest that Europe's economic cycle often lags behind the US, which is showing signs of a recovery.

"The economic recovery which is already underway in several parts of the world should lead to an increase in euro area export demand", ECB chief Wim Duisenberg told MEPs in the European Parliament on Wednesday.

Duisenberg bids farewell

The European Central Bank President, Wim Duisenberg criticised countries like France and Germany for being unable to keep their deficit lower than the 3% of GDP as required by the Stability and Growth Pact. His likely successor, Jean-Claude Trichet, will face questions from MEPs today before they approve - or not - his appointment.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

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