No European country this year will develop economically slower than Belgium, the Belgian magazine The Bulletin reports, citing data from the European Commission.
The EC predicts that the average growth rate of the European economy (including both the eurozone and non-EU countries) this year will be 4%.
In Belgium, this growth will be 2.7% – which makes it the slowest developing country on the list. At the same time, inflation in this country is expected to be 4.3% and will be higher than the average of 3.5% for the euro area.
The EC report also talks about Belgium’s energy problems and that the government is taking various measures to combat rising electricity and gas prices.
“With exceptionally high electricity and gas prices, a gradual decline in energy prices is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.”