(Bloomberg) -- The euro-area economy is gradually picking up and activity is on track to accelerate over the remainder of the year, European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Monday.
“Unemployment remains historically low, moderating inflation and rising real wages mean families are starting to recover purchasing power, and investment is expected to benefit from improving credit conditions” as well as from NextGenerationEU recovery funds, he told a news conference in Brussels.
“So despite the geopolitical uncertainty, which remains the main risk to this outlook, the conditions for an acceleration of economy activity, which we mentioned in our recent spring forecast, remain in place for the second half of this year and for next year,” he added following a meeting of the currency bloc’s finance ministers.
The euro-zone economy grew 0.3% at the start of the year, and probably continued that pace of expansion in the second and third quarters as well. The European Commission sees the region growing 0.8% this year. While that’s up from 0.4% in 2023, a persistent weakness in industry is restraining a wider economic revival following two years of stagnation.
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