Eurogroup defends "agile" policies for economic recovery

Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said on Friday that the eurozone's economic recovery "is still some way to go" due to "uncertainty" associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants, which requires "agile" policies, reported Xinhua.

"The economic recovery is gaining momentum as economies re-open and as Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds come on stream. The RRF will also drive transformative changes in the structure of our economies, making them greener and more digital," he said here at the meeting of European Union (EU) finance ministers held during the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU.

According to Donohoe, who is also Minister for Finance of Ireland, "to be sustainable, the recovery also needs to be inclusive and limit risks of long-term scarring."

"That's why budgetary supports, both at national and EU levels will continue to address the uneven impacts of the pandemic and help those most exposed to the effects of the pandemic," he explained.

He believed that "the improved outlook reflects global prospects, the effective European economic response and the accelerated momentum of the vaccine roll-out which has been crucial in helping economic confidence."

The EU, through coordinated action, has been at the forefront of the campaign to deliver vaccines for all, with 40 percent of EU population now vaccinated, Donohoe added.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said at a press conference in Lisbon that the current inflation pressures are "temporary," hoping that in 2022 they will go down again.

European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni stressed that "there will continue to be consequences" in the market despite the expected recovery."

"We had a technical recession and we are now seeing more encouraging data and we expect a recovery in the second half of this year," he noted.

The Eurogroup meetings are scheduled to last till Saturday.