The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put its growth forecasts for the Eurozone in 2017 and 2018 at 1.6% of GDP.
Of the largest economies of the Eurozone, Spain will see the strongest growth, at a level of 2.3% of GDP in 2017 and 2.1% in 2018. This will be followed by Germany (1.5% of GDP in 2017 and 2018) and France (1.3% in 2017 and 1.6% in 2018). Growth will be steady in Italy, standing at 0.7% of GDP in 2017 and 0.8% in 2018.
According to the IMF, the United Kingdom, which is expected to launch negotiations on its withdrawal from the European Union before the end of March, will pay the price of a slow-down of its economy, in which growth is expected to drop from 2.0% of GDP in 2016 to 1.5% in 2017 and 1.4% in 2018.
Stressing the geopolitical risks to the global economy, the international financial organisation recommends maintaining highly accommodative monetary policies combined with a continuation of structural reforms, such as measures favouring employment, investment in training, the liberalisation of the regulated professions and of the services markets and stimulating innovation. Budgetary support efforts could also target a reinforcement of the social security safety net, in particular in order to make it easier for refugee populations to integrate, the IMF stresses. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)