The European Commission on Wednesday downgraded the growth forecasts for the Eurozone and the European Union and said the region is set to witness a recession of "historic proportions" this year due to the "major shock" from the coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic and the consequent lockdown. Eurozone is forecast to shrink a record 7.75 percent this year, but grow 6.25 percent next year, the executive arm of the EU said in its Spring 2020 Economic Forecast. The EU economy is projected to contract 7.5 percent this year and expand around 6 percent in 2021.
Growth projections for both EU and euro area were revised down by around nine percentage points from the previous forecast. "This is a symmetric shock: all EU countries are affected and all are expected to have a recession this year," Valdis Dombrovskis, EU vice president for economic affairs, said.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.