The
\neurozone economy shrank both in the first quarter of 2023 and the last quarter
\nof 2022, the European statistics office Eurostat announced on Thursday.
\nTechnically, this means that all EU states using the European single currency
\nhave gone into recession. Initially, Eurostat had announced a stagnation in the
\nlast quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter and a 0.1% growth in
\nthe first quarter of 2023, but the revised figures show a drop in the eurozone GDP by 0.1% in
\nboth quarters. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
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On
\nthe other hand, the EU’s and euzone’s economy saw a growth rate of 1% in the
\nfirst quarter of 2023 compared with the similar period in 2022. The highest GDP
\nlevels are recorded in Spain, Cyprus and Malta, all with more than 3%, followed
\nby Romania, with 2.8%. Significant decreases were reported in Estonia,
\nLithuania and Hungary. Based on the seasonally adjusted data, the GDP of the
\nEuropean Union and the eurozone was 2.9% and 2.2%, respectively, above the
\nlevel recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, just before the pandemic. So the
\neurozone economy went into recession in the first three months of the year,
\nwhile the EU has avoided recession. The highest economic growth rate in the
\nEuropean Union in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the previous three
\nmonths was recorded in Poland, Luxemburg and Portugal, and the most significant
\ndecline was recorded in Ireland, Lithuania and The Netherlands. Romania saw a
\n0.1% growth rate in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the previous three
\nmonths, when its GDP went up by 1%. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nsignificant revision made by Eurostat is explained first of all by the new data
\nwith regard to Germany’s performance, Europe’s main driving engine, which shows
\nthat the country also went into recession at the start of 2023 due the
\ndifficulties faced by the industrial sector. There are also question marks
\nabout the prospects for the entire year. In May, the European Commission was
\ncounting on a 1.1% growth rate in 2023 for the 20 states that are part of the
\neurozone. Now, however, this figure seems optimistic, says the economist of a
\nbig European bank who forecasts a growth rate of only 0.5% for the entire year.
\nAccording to Charlotte de Montpellier, the European economy is in a state of
\nstagnation and faced a difficult year because of the shock of the energy
\nprices. Although gas and petrol prices have dropped in recent months, last
\nyear’s explosion in prices had a considerable impact on households, who reduced
\ntheir consumption. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Europe’s
\neconomy is also affected by the increase in the reference interest rates by the
\nEuropean Central Bank, a measure that reduces the demand for loans and puts a
\nbrake on investments, especially in the real estate sector, leading to a
\ndecrease in activity in the building sector. The economic slowdown seen by the
\nUS and China’s slow recovery also have an effect on European exports. (CM)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Union has managed to narrowly avoid going into recession, not so the eurozone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":79589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-95953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n