Euro nations seek path between high inflation, weak growth
ABC News
Eurogroup finance chiefs are engaged in a high-wire political balancing act prompted by conflicting economic forces: a weaker growth outlook and stronger inflation
BRUSSELS -- Euro finance chiefs on Monday engaged in a high-wire political balancing act prompted by conflicting economic forces: a weaker growth outlook and stronger inflation.
Finance ministers from the 19 nations that share the common euro currency pledged continued budgetary stimulus for the European economy amid headwinds caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant. At the same time, they sought to reassure voters by pledging vigilance over sharp price rises.
“Am I concerned about inflation? Obviously so,″ Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag told reporters in Brussels before entering a meeting with her euro zone counterparts. “The purchasing power of the individual citizens will be affected.”
The euro zone faces a slowdown in economic growth this year after a solid recovery in 2021 from a severe coronavirus-induced recession two years ago. But surging inflation, which reached a record 5% in December and is tied to an energy-market squeeze, has complicated the picture — for both policymakers and voters.
