An improved economic outlook gives Europe the chance to double-down on efforts to boost its industrial competitiveness in key sectors from clean energy to semiconductors, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Gentiloni said the bloc could avoid an all-out recession this year and get away with what he called a "limited contraction" of the economy in the first quarter.
While he noted "enormous risks" such as the Ukraine war to Europe's short-term fortunes, he said the fall in energy prices, the fact that inflation appeared to have peaked late last year, and relatively buoyant labour markets gave cause for hope. "Overall this less pessimistic outlook should encourage us in the difficult path we have," he said, referring to short-term challenges such as safeguarding next winter's energy supplies while making the economy more resilient and green in the long-term.unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, but urged those countries to first define the purpose and scope of the effort.
Gentiloni identified semiconductors and areas such as green hydrogen as possible areas of priority, citing the need for joint EU projects to achieve the levels of scale required for a bloc of 450 million citizens.
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