The International Monetary Fund continues to frighten Europe ahead of the upcoming winter. Disappointing forecasts have been provided by numerous economists and agencies. The IMF also added fuel to the fire, saying that the coming winter promises to be dark and difficult.
The forecast described in the recent report was prepared by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Economic Counsellor and Director of Research. According to his assumptions, “winter 2022 will be challenging for Europe, but winter 2023 will likely be worse.” It is obvious that the energy crisis, which has already considerably drained the EU budget, is posing the main threat to the region in the winter period. What is more, the analyst warned that the situation might deteriorate in the following year. He also added that “the energy crisis, especially in Europe, is not a transitory shock.” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is sure that it will be extensive and resilient to most measures. A similar forecast was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “Europe is poised to experience a hard winter amid the growing energy crisis with supply scarcities,” he stated.
Notably, Europe faced difficulties in the energy sector after it imposed numerous sanctions against Russia. One of the packages includes restrictions on Russian energy supplies. Although the local authorities’ attempts to reduce dependence on Russian gas were successful, they led to terrible consequences. Now, Europe will have to come across one of the most severe winters in recent decades.
