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EU heading for recession as sanctions against Russia backfire

Saturday, 12 November 2022 2:23 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 12 November 2022 2:25 AM ]

Jerome Hughes

Press TV, Brussels

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, suggests the bloc's economy will have contracted for a six month period up to the end of March 2023. This means recession. Inflation is forecast to stay high for longer than initially anticipated. Uncertainty surrounds the medium to long-term picture, also.

As EU energy sanctions against Russia appear to backfire, business and consumer confidence continues to decline across the 27-country bloc.

EU leaders firmly blame Moscow for the crisis amid the conflict in Ukraine. However, some commentators claim the United States has used NATO to manufacture the war.

The EU says it will continue to fund the Ukrainian army and government no matter what the cost. Back home, the only good news is that employment figures remain positive. Just modest damage to the EU labour market is forecast for 2023.

It is an area that is being monitored very closely by the commission as there's broad consensus, a sharp rise in unemployment would represent the final nail in the coffin for the EU economy.

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