ARCHIVED - EU upgrades economic growth forecast in Spain to 6.2 per cent this year
The Spanish economic recovery is expected to be among the fastest in Europe
The European Commission has upgraded its forecast for economic growth throughout the EU and the Eurozone for 2021, effectively bringing forward the expectation of post-pandemic recovery as the coronavirus vaccination campaign continues to progress rapidly.
The latest prediction is that the EU’s economy will expand by 4.8 per cent this year – 0.6 points higher than in the previous forecast - and by 4.5 per cent in 2022, while in Spain growth is expected to be even more rapid at 6.2 per cent this year and 6.3 per cent next year. These figures represent an increase of 0.2 points in the forecast for 2021, but a 0.3-point decrease in the predicted growth rate for 2022.
Only in Rumania (7.4%), Ireland (7.2%) and Hungary (6.3%) is the recovery expected to be more rapid than in Spain in 2021, while the slowest progress is forecast in Finland (2.7%) and Denmark (3%).
At the same time, inflation is predicted to reach 2.1 per cent in the EU this year and 1.4 per cent in 2022.
Of course, though, all predictions are subject to the future development of the pandemic, and the latest forecast anticipates the reactivation of the international tourism sector following the introduction of the EU’s Covid passport scheme on 1st July. What is not taken into account is the recent sharp increase in incidence rates all over the continent, which severely jeopardizes the optimism regarding tourism.