The European Commission’s latest economic report foresees steeper GDP contractions in the south and milder contractions in the north in 2020, followed by an overall slow rebound for the entire bloc in 2021. This means that the risks of bankruptcies, private credit defaults and sovereign defaults, as well as protests and the collapse of governments, will persist and be particularly high in Southern Europe. On Nov. 5, the European Commission released its autumn economic forecast, which is the bloc's most comprehensive economic report since the spring forecast in May. According to the commission's updated predictions, the economic rebound that took place in the European Union in the third quarter will be short-lived due to the reintroduction of economically disruptive lockdown measures to contain rising COVID-19 cases across the bloc. The commission also expects economic activity in the European Union to improve in the first quarter of 2021, but to remain constrained by lingering virus...
