Covid-19 crisis has hit the economy with sustained weakness, says expert in European Central Bank

Paris, (ST) – The European Central Bank chief economist, Philippe Line, announced that the coronavirus pandemic crisis has hit the European economy with sustained weakness, ruling out the return of European Gross domestic product (GDP) to 2019 levels before the fall of 2022.

“What we are closely watching is the outbreak of the virus, which inevitably restricts consumer behavior more than isolation measures do,” he said in an interview with the French newspaper Les Echos, stressing the importance of knowing how long this matter will be.

He ruled out that the last weeks of this year will witness an improvement, noting that as long as the vaccine against Corona is not widely distributed, we will remain in a foggy period.

The economic expert added that, despite the vaccine, there will be sustainable losses and the European economy will emerge from this crisis with sustained weakness.

Raghda Sawas