MNI BRIEF:Moderate EU Growth, Inflation Slowing - Brussels

EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis gave an upbeat assessment of the outlook for the EU economy ahead of the release of the Commission’s economic forecasts on September 11, saying that the outlook was one of moderate growth and a gradual decline in inflation.

But in the same speech in Vilnius Friday, the commissioner also admitted that the EU economy was at a “critical stage” following the pandemic and hit by the impact of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and said that risks remained to the downside.

Dombrovskis also noted that there are also now grounds for cautious optimism. "The outlook for the EU economy is better than we would have hoped a year ago, but that said, risks are still on the downside. For this year and next we expect to see moderate growth and a gradual decline in inflation. A strong labour market, record low unemployment and a significant fall of high energy prices should provide continuing support.”