“The European economy is slowly recovering”. “Inflation continues to ease”, private consumption and investment growth are picking up slowly, and unemployment remains low. Growth “is set to gradually accelerate over the next two years”. EU Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni opened the presentation of the Economic Forecast in Brussels with a positive outlook. And he went on to add: “However, structural challenges and geopolitical uncertainty weigh on our future prospects. Member States will have to walk a narrow path of bringing down debt levels while supporting growth, aided by the new economic governance framework and the continued implementation of NextGenerationEU”.

Gentiloni pointed out: “Looking ahead, strengthening our competitiveness through investments and structural reforms is crucial”. According to the forecast document, “after a prolonged period of stagnation, the EU economy is returning to modest growth, while the disinflation process continues”. The European Commission’s Autumn Forecast projects GDP growth in 2024 at 0.9% in the EU27 and 0.8% in the euro area. Economic activity is forecast to accelerate to 1.5% in the EU and to 1.3% in the euro area in 2025, and to 1.8% in the EU and 1.6% in the euro area in 2026.