EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

Berkeley-Nanyang Advanced Management Programme

22 September 2010

Ambassador Holger Standertskjöld, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Singapore

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

Outline of the presentation

1. The current economic situation in the EU

2. How the EU has responded to the economic and financial crisis

3. The importance of getting the wheels running, especially through increased trade flows.

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

The recovery in the EU is gathering pace

• Growth forecast for has been revised up: real GDP growth is projected at 1.8% in the EU and 1.7% in the euro area in 2010

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

The recovery in the EU is gathering pace

• The labour market in Europe is still weak but seems to have stabilized

• Inflation forecast for 2010 is broadly unchanged since the spring: 1.8% in the EU and 1.4% in the euro area

• But the recovery remains fragile. There is high uncertainty in the outlook, and developments across Member States are uneven

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

Measures taken by the EU

• Extraordinary measures during the crisis: monetary and fiscal policy

• Other examples: financial assistance to EU Member States (Greece) facing exceptional circumstances

• The EU acted swiftly and with determination

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

…but no room for complacency

• Overhaul of the European financial regulatory system

• The crisis wreaked havoc with public finances – now restore sound public finances

• Structural reforms and growth for jobs: Europe 2020 strategy

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

The crisis greatly affected global trade

EU’s trade with ASEAN decreased significantly between 2007 and 2009:

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA)

• Close economic ties will be boosted even further by the EUSFTA, positive effects also on the ASEAN region

• Negotiations started on 3 March when EU Trade Commissioner De Gucht met with Minister for Trade and Industry Lim in Singapore

• Once concluded, it will be an ambitious agreement including all relevant trade and investment issues

• Three negotiation rounds so far, the aim is to have an agreement concluded by next year

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

EU-Singapore trade and investment

• The EU was Singapore’s largest trading partner and foreign investor in 2009

• Singapore is the EU’s largest trading partner in South-East Asia: bilateral trade exceeded € 55 billion in 2008

• Over the years, Singapore and the EU have invested well over € 100 billion in each other’s economies

• About 8,000 EU companies are present in Singapore

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

Concluding remarks

• After turbulent times the EU sees signs of normalization in its economy

• Europe has shown that it is more than 27 different national solutions and the EU will exit the current crisis strengthened, not weakened

• In today’s globalized world economy we are dependant on each other. Trade and investment flows are key for the recovery – Singapore and the EU lead the way with the Free Trade Agreement negotiations

EU's economic recovery: where do we stand?

Questions?

The EU Delegation in Singapore is at your disposal

Thank you for listening!