State of the economy in Europe
EU Commission lowers economic forecast for Germany
High uncertainty, labor shortages and thrifty consumers: Brussels also paints a rather bleak picture for the German economy. What is the situation in the European Union as a whole?
The EU Commission also expects the German economy to shrink slightly this year. In an estimate presented in Brussels, the authority of the EU’s largest economy predicts a decline in gross domestic product of 0.1 percent this year. In its previous forecast in May, it had assumed minimal growth of 0.1 percent for 2024. Reasons given include weak demand for industrial products, high levels of uncertainty, labor shortages and high consumer savings rates. For 2025, the EU Commission expects gross domestic product in the Federal Republic to grow by 0.7 percent.
The German Council of Experts for assessing overall economic development also recently lowered its forecast and also predicts that the German economy will shrink by 0.1 percent this year. For the coming year he only expects a mini-plus in gross domestic product of 0.4 percent.
According to forecasts, the economy in Europe is growing
Across Europe, the Commission expects growth to be somewhat slower than recently. For the current year, experts expect the international community’s economy to grow by 0.9 percent. In their spring forecast in May they expected an increase of 1.0 percent. The authority continues to forecast growth of 0.8 percent for the euro zone. An increase of 1.5 percent in the EU and 1.3 percent in the Eurozone is expected for the coming year.
dpa
Source: Stern
