Responding to the European Commission’s Spring 2020 Economic Forecast, which projects that the euro area economy will contract by a record of almost 8% in 2020 and unemployment rise to more than 9%, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger called for a investment recovery plan for Europe that will not only re-build the economy but is above all socially oriented.

“The conclusions of the 2020 economic forecast are no surprise, they confirm what we know already: We are facing the threat of an unprecedented fast-track to economic recession and unemployment.

An unprecedented effort is therefore needed by the EU to support Member States to keep the downturn at bay as much as possible. The last crisis, which also started abruptly with a sudden implosion of financial systems, resulted in an economic and then social crisis whose consequences we still feel today. The policy reaction throughout Europe was austerity and budget cuts. It is clear that this made the economy and societies vulnerable, as cuts in public services reduced the resilience of the state and the society to face crises. It is tragic and ironic that the budget cuts from the last crisis have aggravated the current pandemic crisis in many Member States. Spain or Italy would have fared better -and in the end saved money!- and have had fewer deaths if their health systems had not been drained through cuts in facilities, equipment and staff. Expenditure in quality public services is no cost, it is an investment that will more than pay off in the long term.”

Read the full statement here.