EU economic recovery expected to be slower than previously thought: official

BRUSSELS - The recovery of European Union (EU) economies from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be slower than previously thought due to the resurgence of the virus spread in the bloc, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis warned on Wednesday.

"The months ahead will be challenging for everyone, so it is especially important that we discuss and coordinate our policies," Dombrovskis told a press conference following the virtual meeting of the EU's economy and finance ministers.

The ministers met to discuss the economic recovery in the bloc against a backdrop of tightened measures to curb the second wave of outbreaks.

The Commission will publish its autumn economic forecast on Thursday, noted Dombrovskis.

Dombrovskis spoke about the urgency of reaching an agreement within the EU institutions on the 750-billion-euro (879-billion-US dollar) recovery plan, the bulk of which is a 672.5-billion-euro tool named Recovery and Resilience Facility.

He stressed that the member states need to prepare and implement the ambitious plans with reforms and investments to support the recovery and transformation of their economies.

The ministers renewed the discussion of new fiscal rules, which was disrupted by the pandemic early this year. "We shall come back to it once this acute phase of the crisis is over," said Dombrovskis.

Wednesday's meeting also adopted conclusions on an action plan against money laundering and terrorism financing presented by the European Commission in May.