Great Recession in Europe

The Greek economy shrank a massive 10 percent in 2020, the European Commission said in its winter economic forecasts report published Thursday.

The Commission even forecasts that this lost ground will not be covered in 2021.

According to the report, Greece will achieve a 3.5 percent rebound in 2021 but predicts that growth will accelerate to 5 percent in 2022.

Austria received orders from investors amounting to 40 billion euros and Greece 25 billion euros for their new 10-year bonds

Bond sales for Austria, Greece and Slovenia won strong demand on Wednesday, joining larger peers who issued debt via syndication earlier in the month.

Austria received 32 billion euros of investor orders, eight times the 4 billion euros it will raise, and Greece received 28 billion euros of orders for new 10-year bonds.

“With this new repayment, the optimal utilization of the cash resources of the Greek State is further and immediately achieved”

Spain passed a decree forcing landlords to slash rents for coronavirus-hit bars and restaurants by up to half today and announced plans to distribute EU COVID-19 recovery funds via public-private partnerships.

The next five years could prove pivotal for the Greek economy as the government seeks via its National Recovery and Sustainability Plan to utilize resources from the European Union's Recovery Fund amounting to 32 billion euros - which could reach €45 billion together with private funds - and power the country's GDP to a new level.

Even when (not if) coronavirus pandemic has passed, Europe could find the most damaging economic legacy is not the vast piles of government debt but the hundreds of billion euros in liabilities that have landed on companies.

Romania's economy shrank by 12.3 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter, according to data released on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics. Compared to Q2 2019, the Gross Domestic Product fell 10.5 percent both in gross and seasonally adjusted terms.

Greece's economy contracted in January-to-March compared to last year's fourth quarter, the country's statistics service (ELSTAT) said on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted data showed gross domestic product shrank 1.6 percent in the first quarter, at a faster pace compared to a 0.7 percent contraction in October-to-December.

"I fear German power less than her inactivity," remarked Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski at the height of the eurozone crisis. More than Germany leading Europe, Europe must fear a Germany that eschews its leadership responsibilities.