Greece ranks among the European Union countries with the strongest fiscal reaction to the energy crisis, as the support measures already announced amount to almost 0.6% of the gross domestic product, according to the spring estimates of the European Commission released on Thursday.
Those measures, combined with the EU funds and the fiscal package announced last year ease the blow on family budgets from the rise in energy costs, Brussels noted.
The spring forecasts confirmed what analysts have expressed for this year: Greece will see its growth rate slow down, but will outperform the European average. It will also have a higher inflation due to the energy costs, well above the EU mean rate.
The Commission lowered the growth rate for this year to 1.8%, from 2.2% in November, and for next year to 1.6%. The slowdown from last year’s 2.1% growth is due to the reduction in the real disposable income that will hurt private consumption. However Brussels estimates that investments will soften the blow of the crisis, rising 7.3% before easing to a 1.3% expansion in 2027, following the conclusion of the Recovery Fund.
Notably, Brussels sees risks growing toward the adverse scenario. In the case of a prolonged energy crisis, the services exports, and especially tourism, will suffer.
