The EU economy successfully avoided recession last winter, a report by the European Commission said. Despite earlier gloomy outlooks, which were prompted by concerns over the impact of the conflict in Ukraine, the diversification of energy supply, and plummeting Russian energy exports due to sanctions, the European Union has managed to weather the storm.
The European Commission has revised its forecast for the EU economy upwards. According to the EC’s outlook, the region’s GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 1.7% by 2024. The European economy has been boosted by lower energy and natural gas prices, which seemed quite unbelievable until recently.
“The European economy is in better shape than we projected last autumn. Thanks to determined efforts to strengthen our energy security, a remarkably resilient labor market, and easing supply constraints, we avoided a winter recession and are set for moderate growth this year and next,” Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said. However, Gentiloni noted that risks to the EU economy remained too plentiful for comfort. “We must remain vigilant,” he added.
Meanwhile, the EU has pledged to maintain the sanction regime imposed on Russia. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union would continue its economic containment of Russia and would ban the transport of European goods to other countries via Russia.