Economy of the European Union

In a significant turn, the unemployment rate across the Eurozone hit a remarkable record low of 6.4% in November 2023, marking a decline from the previous 6.5% in October and notably lower than the 6.7% reported a year earlier in November 2022.

Wolfgang Schaeuble resembled a commanding political figure in both Germany and Europe. It would not be an overstatement to assert that, for a substantial span of challenging years, the Eurogroup operated within the sphere of his influence - member-states actively sought his favor, aligning themselves with his policy initiatives.

Wolfgang Schaeuble assumed the role of Germany's finance minister in late October 2009, serving in this capacity for a full eight years. During this period, he collaborated, beginning with my own appointment a few weeks earlier, with nine successive Greek finance ministers. This observation alone serves as a clear indication of the impact he had on navigating the eurozone and Greek crises.

A significant reduction in the debt ratio, the strengthening of economic resilience, and improvement in Greece's governance indicators are the three essential steps required for the country to fully normalize and regain an A credit rating, as it had before the debt crisis, thus aligning with the average credit rating of eurozone economies. This analysis comes from the Bank of Greece.

The latest report from the National Statistical Institute sheds light on Bulgaria's inflation trends for November 2023. The month witnessed a modest 0.3% increase in inflation, while the year-on-year comparison revealed a 5.4% surge in prices from November 2022.

The Eurogroup welcomed on Thursday the fact that the draft budgetary plans of Greece and another six countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Spain, Ireland, Lithuania and Slovenia) are in line with the fiscal recommendations of the European Council based on the Commission assessment.

The European Union-harmonized inflation rate in Greece fell to 3% in November, according to Eurostat's preliminary data, after the jump of 3.8% it had made in October.

In the eurozone, inflation continued to slow closer to the ECB's 2% target, at a faster pace than expected. Inflation in the bloc hit a two-year low of 2.4% in November, from 2.9% in October.

The European Commission's latest autumn economic forecast reveals Bulgaria's anticipated economic slowdown in 2023 and 2024, followed by a predicted rebound in 2025. Projections indicate a decrease in imports and exports alongside steady household consumption levels, set to rise gradually in the coming months of 2024.

The European Commission sees Greece's economic growth at 2.4% in 2023 and 2.2% until 2025, above the eurozone and EU average, in its fall economic forecasts released on Wednesday, pointing out that this growth is supported by the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and a resilient labor market.

Greece's economy is expected to expand by 2.5% this year due to strong domestic demand, investments and EU funds, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

Growth will slow down to 2.0% next year, the fund said in staff concluding statement.

[Reuters]