Due to the restrictions imposed amid the spread of the coronavirus, the European economy contracted by 6.8 percent last year. The depth of the fall was estimated by CNBC.
Over the last quarter of 2020, the health situation in the EU countries worsened, and Germany and France had to reintroduce lockdowns. The tightening of social restrictions naturally affected the economic situation: over the last three months of 2020, the EU’s GDP decreased by 0.7 percent. In addition to the uneven distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, the situation is aggravated by the fact that the number of infections with the new virus strain has increased in the new year.
Germany is considered the strongest economy in the eurozone: its recovery has slowed down amid the introduction of new restrictions due to the coronavirus. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the region’s economy will grow by only 4.2 percent this year.
Economic activity in the region slowed down in the last quarter of 2020, the trend will continue in the first half of 2021. The IMF does not expect the euro area to return to late 2019 levels by the end of 2022. Janet Henry, chief economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, noted that much of Europe is likely back into recession. “Indicators in China have already reached pre-crisis levels. In the US, according to our forecasts, this will happen by the end of 2021. The EU will be able to recover only by the end of 2022,” she said.