On July 6, the authors of the latest World Bank’s EU Regular Economic Report will present their findings at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in an event hosted by the Department of Economics.

The EU economy has weathered a series of overlapping crises since 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine, and rapid increases in the cost-of-living. Despite these negative shocks, the EU economy has proved resilient, with output expanding 3.5 percent in 2022 on the back of additional fiscal support and earlier strength in domestic demand. This resilience, however, has already faded as evident in the sharp slowdown in quarterly growth. Against the backdrop of downside risks and structural weaknesses in the EU energy sector, the report combines the macro and micro impacts of a rapidly changing energy landscape. The analysis shows that while the impact of a complete cessation of gas supplies from Russia to the EU was manageable in the last winter season, the impact on firms and households has been uneven, and may deepen inequality.

The EU Regular Economic Report (RER) is an annual publication of the World Bank, which presents economic developments and prospects in the European Union (EU), with a special focus on countries most engaged with the World Bank in EU Central and Eastern European countries (EU-CEE). The report finds that coordinated policy efforts are needed to mitigate the risk of recession, rebuild fiscal buffers, and support vulnerable households. Fiscal policy support, going forward, will need to be timely, targeted, time bound, and transparent to eventually support gradual fiscal consolidation.

SPEAKERS

Gallina A. Vincelette (Country Director for the European Union, The World Bank)

Jasmin Chakeri (Practice Manager, The World Bank)

Collette Wheeler (Senior Economist, The World Bank)

MODERATOR

Jesus Crespo Cuaresma (Professor of Economics, WU Vienna)

WHEN?

July 6, 2023, 11:00 – 12:00

WHERE?  

D4.0.039, D4 Building, Ground Floor, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna

Register by email by July 4 at econ-events@wu.ac.at