



The Greek economy is expected to grow by 1.8 percent this year and 2.3 percent in 2020, the European Commission said in its autumn forecasts released in Brussels on Thursday.

The EU’s executive body said it expected Greek GDP to grow by 2.3 percent in 2020 and by 2.0 percent in 2021, figures that do not meet the new Greek government’s expectations.

The average growth rate in the European Union as a whole will be 1.4 percent, with Italy recording the lowest (0.4%) and the tiny island nation of Malta the highest (4.2%), according to these predictions.

The Commission forecasts a decline in Greece’s unemployment rate to 17.3 percent of the workforce in 2019, falling to 15.4% in 2020 and to 14% in 2021. The Commission forecasts a steady increase in the number of citizens who are employed of 2.2 percent in 2019 and 2020 and 1.4% in 2021.

The forecast released by the EU on Thursday also suggests that Greece’s general government’s surplus is projected to reach 1.3% of GDP in 2019, 1.0% in 2020 and 1.1% in 2021, while the country’s public debt is predicted to reach 175.2% of GDP in 2019.

Greece’s debt is expected to fall to 169.3 percent in 2020 and 163.1 percent of GDP in 2021.

The nation’s annual inflation rate is expected to reach 0.5% in 2019, 0.6% in 2020 and 0.9%in 2021, while investments are expected to rise by an impressive 10.1% this year, 12.5% in 2020 and 8.1% in 2021.

🍂 Autumn 2019 #ECForecast: A challenging road ahead. The European economy is now in its seventh consecutive year of growth and is forecast to continue expanding in 2020 and 2021. More here → https://t.co/HHdxA7oB8y pic.twitter.com/4larfZ4wkc — European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) November 7, 2019

With information from AMNA



