EU balance of trade and inflation rate to be released in speech

The European Central Bank is today set to release the EU’s trade balance figures and interest rates, which are likely to remain at 0%, as has been the case since April.

In hopes of returning to pre-pandemic levels of growth by 2022, the EU has agreed upon a milestone mutualised debt agreement that would pump $1.26 trillion into its struggling members’ treasuries over six years.

Currently, the collectivised debt premise of the recovery plan has been determined. However, disagreement persists over the allocation of funds being contingent on recipients’ willingness to uphold democratic norms and meet the bloc’s environmental stipulations. As increasingly authoritarian Poland and Hungary view ratification under the current expectations as infringement on national sovereignty, doubts remain regarding the agreement’s passage by the January 1 deadline.

However, if Brussels capitulates, it risks opposition from the wealthier nations opposed to bankrolling a recovery plan only for it to be misallocated. With Germany recently being criticised for its perceived acquiescence to Budapest and Warsaw in a revised agreement, wealthier nations have called for the EU to call the bluffs of leaders who are unlikely to risk failing to remediate their economic crises.

Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.