A more positive picture of the EU economy has been predicted: it is to avoid recession with lower inflation and higher growth than had been forecast.
The bloc will now avoid a technical recession, the EU said in its winter economic forecast, which is when the economy goes through a six-month period of economic contraction.
Growth will continue throughout this year, the latest forecast says. The economy across the 27 countries will grow 0.8% in 2023, the union now expects – up from the 0.3% predicted in the autumn economic forecast.
The growth rate for 2024 remains unchanged at 1.6%.
Similarly, inflation has reached its peak and also been revised downwards for both this year and next, and unemployment remains at an all-time low at 6.1%
The rate of price increases dropped from 11.1% in November to 10.4% in December last year, but it’s still up from 5.3% a year before.