French Finance Minister Lists 3 Major Threats To Europe's Economic Growth

The economic growth in the European Union could be undermined by the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, China's economic slowdown creating issues for global supply chains, and inflation, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2022) The economic growth in the European Union could be undermined by the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, China's economic slowdown creating issues for global supply chains, and inflation, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.

"I see three major risks. The first is a resurgence of the pandemic, we have to be vigilant, we have to be very humble and circumspect. Over the last two years, it is very difficult to say that we get rid of the pandemic once and for all. The second risk is a slowdown in China which may give rise to difficulties with certain supply value chains, so here too we have to be vigilant.

Thirdly, there is the subject we discussed in greatest length, that is, inflation," Le Maire said following a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels.

Earlier in the day, Eurostat, the EU's official statistics bureau, presented its statistical recovery dashboard, showing that Europe's industrial production rose by 2.5% in November, along with a 3.1% increase in exports. At the same time, inflation grew by 5.2% the same month.