BRUSSELS — The economic outlook for the European Union has deteriorated and the recession and unemployment blighting the euro area are expected to worsen, the European Commission warned on Friday.
The commission, the main E.U. policymaking arm, said gross domestic product across the 27-nation European Union would shrink by 0.1 percent this year compared with a forecast in February for a slight uptick in growth. The 17-member euro zone is now expected to contract by 0.4 percent this year, compared with earlier expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent.
The outlook for the jobless in Europe is equally grim. Unemployment is expected to reach 11.1 percent across the European Union and 12.2 percent in the euro zone. Joblessness is expected to remain at those levels for much of 2014, the commission said.
The figures were released as part of the commission’s periodic economic forecasts.
The growth forecasts for 2013 still signal a slowing in the pace of contraction compared with last year, when growth fell by 0.3 percent across the Union and by 0.6 percent in the euro area. But the unemployment picture is distinctly worse compared to 2013, when 10.5 percent were without jobs across the Union and 11.4 percent in the euro area.
Olli Rehn, the E.U. commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said in a statement Friday that leaders needed to “do whatever it takes to overcome the unemployment crisis in Europe.” That is a reflection of growing concerns among officials in Brussels that the levels of unemployment in some countries like Spain could lead to unrest and even become endemic.
Spain is expected to see employment reach 27 percent this year, compared with 25 percent last year, while the outlook for Portugal was 18.2 percent compared with 15.9 percent last year. Unemployment in Greece, which has been in economic intensive care for three years, is expected to reach 27 percent compared with 24.3 percent last year, the commission said.
Yet Mr. Rehn also warned of the need for complementary measures as nations roll back the kind of painful budgetary belt-tightening he has advocated.
“Fiscal consolidation is continuing, but its pace is slowing down,” he said. “In parallel, structural reforms must be intensified to unlock growth in Europe.”
Mr. Rehn has come under blistering attack from economists who say his austerity policies have crimped countries’ ability to restore growth.
Deficits among European Union and euro-area countries are expected to decline in 2013, the commission said. But the combination of a poor economic outlook and the slowing pace of austerity means that national debt, as a ratio of G.D.P., would rise.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/business/global/04iht-euro04.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.