WIRTSCHAFT
Osteuropa stolpert in eine Wirtschaftskrise
May 15, 2020 -
Osteuropäische Länder – bisher der am schnellsten wachsende Teil der EU – stehen vor der schlimmsten Rezession seit dem Zusammenbruch des Kommunismus, werden sich aber schneller erholen als die westlichen Nachbarn.
The virus outbreak will undo several years of solid growth in a region with economies highly tuned to the car industry and exports and which has outpaced richer western Europe.
The economies of eastern Europe states – Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – will collectively shrink by 6.9 per cent this year, the European Commission predicts.
However, as lockdown measures are being lifted across the continent, officials are sounding more frequent forecasts of a recovery. According to the European Commission, the region could bounce back with 6.1 per cent expansion next year.
Much will depend on Germany, Europe’s largest economy and a key trade partner which shrank 2.2% in the first quarter.