Transcript Berkeley-Nanyang Advanced Management Programme (power point)

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!