London
Europe’s development bank warned Wednesday that the coronavirus crisis would deal a “massive” economic blow this year to its investment zone, which is also reeling from collapsing commodity prices.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicted that the near-40 economies where it operates will shrink by an average 3.5 percent this year on the back of the global health crisis, before rebounding by 4.8 percent next year.
And the downturn could potentially be deeper than expected—if COVID-19 social distancing measures remain in place for longer than anticipated.
“The crisis has been a massive hit and coming out of it will be just as challenging,” said EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik in the bank’s latest outlook report. “This is not the time to engage in economic nationalism and protectionism, but a time to shape a better future through international commitment to free trade, climate change mitigation and economic cooperation,” she added.—AFP
