(Finance) – “The crisis in Ukraine will also have economic consequences for the EU. I think it is a bit early to take measures, but certainly the 4% path expected this year in the average of European countries will be reduced. it will depend on the duration of the war and on factors that are difficult to predict today. There are many unknowns that await us, because we do not know what horizon will develop around this conflict “. This is what the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni in his speech at Live in Bari on Sky Tg24.
In this scenario, for Gentiloni, it is necessary take inflation into account, but the first goal is to achieve the NRP. “Inflation – explained the EU commissioner – is certainly at very high levels, the latest surveys concern the month of March and tell us about inflation at 7.5%, it has a huge energy component. Energy inflation it is currently at 44.7%. It must be taken into account, but as far as the NRP is concerned, the first objective is to achieve it, at a time when there is a fear of a slowdown in growth, having 200 billion available for development and investments, I think it has never been so the development of the NRP is important “.
Speaking of sanctions on Russia Gentiloni recalled that “the European Union in the second package, if we want to define it that way, therefore in the first weekend after the start of the war, took a very important decision which was that, and also quite unexpected, to freeze the assets of the Russian central bank in foreign reserves. I believe that that decision – he added – has had a huge impact on the Russian economy which is in tremendous difficulty at the moment “.