According to data from the European Commission, this year the European Union’s economy will experience the fastest growth in decades. As the relaxation of pandemic-related restrictions promotes a rebound in economic activity, the European Commission has raised its forecast for the next two years.

Brussels said on Wednesday that economic growth across the EU will grow by 4.8% this year and 4.5% next year. This will be the fastest expansion since 1976, even though the group included far fewer countries at the time.

EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said: “Driven by strong domestic and global demand and the faster-than-expected reopening of the service industry since the spring, the EU economy will be the fastest in decades. growth of.”

The EU economy suffered a 6% contraction last year—the worst since its establishment.

The European Commission predicts that Germany will grow by 3.6% this year, while France will grow by 6% and Italy will grow by 5%. Romania is expected to achieve the fastest expansion, reaching 7.4%.

The GDP of the Eurozone this year will also grow by 4.8% and 4.5%, respectively, compared with previous forecasts of 4.3% and 4.4%.

This will restore real GDP to pre-crisis levels in the last quarter of this year-earlier than the Commission recently predicted this spring.

The rapid progress of vaccination has promoted the improvement of prospects, which has allowed many European countries to relax restrictions, especially to promote the service industry. Tourism travel within the European Union is also beginning to recover, helping consumer spending.

More than 62% of the adult population in the European Union and the European Economic Area have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

However, Gentiloni warned that it is “essential” for member states to “maintain policy support when needed” to “keep the recovery on track”.

“Building on the impressive progress made in recent months, we must redouble our efforts to vaccinate; the spread of the Delta variant clearly reminds us that we have not escaped the shadow of the pandemic,” he said.

The committee stated that rapid expansion, coupled with rising energy prices and production bottlenecks, will push consumer prices up this year. The euro zone’s average inflation rate this year is expected to be 1.9%, but it predicts that the pressure will ease in 2022, bringing the inflation rate back to 1.4%.