The European Commission has published its second report on the impact of the coronavirus on EU trade. According to the Chief Economist team of the Directorate General for Trade, the pandemic will result in a decrease in global trade between 10%-16% in 2020. For the EU27, the predicted reduction is expected to be between 9%-15% for extra-EU27 exports and 11%-14% for extra-EU imports. Exports of primary sectors (other than energy) and services trade turn out to be less affected than manufacturing sectors, although most of them still see exports contract by 15% (Source: DeHavilland).
A new app is helping to ease the traffic at Europe’s borders in the times of the pandemic. To keep freight moving, the European GNSS Agency and the European Commission have launched “Galileo Green Lane” in May. With 2.500 users already, it is proving popular with truck drivers. The app uses the positioning services of the Galileo satellite system to monitor and facilitate the free movement of freight. Users are notified about traffic flows, waiting times, and other relevant border situations.
Unemployment in the European Union has remained relatively stable over the course of April. As Eurostat reports, the unemployment rate rose by 0,2%, to now 6,6% in the EU (7,7% in the Eurozone). Youth unemployment now stands at 15,4% (Eurozone 15,8%). European governments have put in place extensive state aid programmes with an accumulated worth of €2 trillion to avoid mass bankruptcy. The EU is contributing to national programmes to compensate employees for lost income due to reduced working hours (Sources: POLITICO Pro, Eurostat).