EU’s Hogan: It could be 2024 before the bloc’s economy recovers – RTE

While rejecting US President Donald Trump’s call for the American pharmaceutical companies to return home, European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan also cited fears of prolonged economic weakness in the region.

Key quotes

American companies don't locate in Ireland just because of they like Ireland, they do so because they make money.

He also warned it could be 2024 before Ireland and other European economies fully recover from the economic and trade effects of the Covid-19 crisis. 

The EU commissioner said unemployment will rise across the trading bloc as member states struggle. 

For the EU 27 states, the predicted COVID-19-related economic contraction results would result in a reduction of 9.2% in exports of goods and services and an 8.8% decrease in imports to the EU this year. 

FX implications

While the news should have ideally weighed down on the market’s risk-tone sentiment, S&P 500 Futures register 0.10% gain to 2,838 by the press time of early Thursday morning in Asia.