European economics commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday that “no one can eliminate the risk of a recession” in the coming months, stressing the uncertainties of the current moment in Europe.
“The risks are there. In the coming months, no one can rule out the risk of a recession,” said Paolo Gentiloni, speaking today at the Socialist Academy, which takes place in Batalha, Leiria until Sunday.
Despite noting that Europe is not in a recession and that it is registering “a decent level of growth”, the official stressed that there are “uncertainties” regarding the current moment, given inflation and the energy crisis.
“We are in a difficult moment,” he admitted, using the phrase “Winter is coming” (“The Winter is coming”, from the TV series “Game of Thrones”) to say that Europe is “a of the most difficult winters in that there is a record”, at a time “full of contradictions and uncertainties”.
During his speech, the European Commissioner noted that in February 2021 the contribution of energy to inflation was negative, currently almost 40% and, despite all the difficulties, the labor market in Europe is “very interesting”, with the “lowest unemployment in many years”.
Gentiloni remembered the pandemic and the war in Ukraine as two events that changed the perception of the economic and political situation, but also the perception of Europeans of themselves.
“The response to these extraordinary events has, from my perspective, been good,” he said, noting the European Union’s measures to combat the pandemic and its economic consequences, as well as Brussels’ swift action in identifying sanctions against Russia.
This recent past has increased citizens’ demand for the European institutions, he said, as there is “a great expectation” that Europe will be able to respond to the energy crisis, despite not having “many powers in the energy treaties.” “.
In addition to the need to respond to this crisis, Paolo Gentiloni believed that the measures that may be advanced cannot exclude the climate transition strategy that Brussels has already defined.
“It would be crazy to forget our commitments and European leadership in the green transition due to this crisis,” he stressed, stressing that a strengthening of this strategy will lead to a Europe that is more independent from fossil fuels, namely of Russian origin.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that in the coming months part of our political spectrum and public opinion will protest and say that with the sanctions we are hurting our own economy and wondering if it is worth it,” said Paolo Gentiloni.
“That’s why we have to remember what it’s all about. There is an autocratic regime that uses military force to occupy an independent European nation,” said the official, a member of the Italian Democratic Party participating in the general election at the end of this month, where the far-right FdI (Fratelli d’Italia ) party is identified as a potential winner.
Source: DN
