The Eurogroup warns of the loss of economic momentum in the eurozone but rules out a "deep" recession

BRUSELAS, 8 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The ministers of Economy and Finance of the eurozone, the Eurogroup, confirmed this Wednesday the loss of momentum of the eurozone economy, although they stressed that it continues to "resist" and that "there are no reasons to foresee a deep and prolonged recession ".

This was stated by the president of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, after addressing the macroeconomic situation in the countries of the euro zone at the meeting that the ministers held this Wednesday in Brussels to analyze the impact of recent geopolitical events such as the conflict in the East. Next.

The European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, has also agreed with this diagnosis, who has recognized that the short-term prospects remain "challenging", since GDP contracted by 0.1% in the euro zone in the third quarter, while short-term indicators suggest that economic momentum will remain "weak" at the beginning of the current quarter.

So far, Gentiloni added, the impact of tensions in the Middle East on energy markets has been contained, but he warned that there is a "risk" of an increase in oil prices if the conflict escalates.

"These new geopolitical tensions add even more risks and uncertainty," acknowledged the Italian commissioner, who announced that next Wednesday Brussels will present its autumn economic forecasts and that they will take the latest events into account.

Likewise, he added that in relation to the "very pessimistic scenarios" that the EU had in mind a year ago regarding recession, inflation and energy and that this is still a "challenging" scenario, he highlighted that the EU economy eurozone has been able to "avoid a deep recession and an energy crisis during the winter."