The eurozone economy will shrink by 8% to 12% in 2020 because of the coronavirus, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has said.
Lagarde said the economic impact of the virus would fall between the economic impact of the virus.
She said the bank’s “mild” scenario, which estimated negative growth of 5%, was “already outdated.”
Lagarde added that she was not too concerned about rising debt levels, saying there would not be a new euro crisis. She highlighted the importance of liquidity and said what the debt is spent on is what will be important.
“The ECB’s mission is to first of all be the custodian of this phenomenal asset that we have in common, the euro, our currency,” Lagarde said at a European Parliament youth event.
“The mission of our founding members was price stability, that’s our primary mission.”
