Harsh winter may cause social unrest in Europe: IMF chief

ANKARA

A harsh winter and an energy crisis may cause social unrest in Europe, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday.

"There is certainly fear of recession in some countries, or even if it is not recession, that it would feel like recession this winter," Kristalina Georgieva said during an address at Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture held in Washington, D.C.

"And if Mother Nature decides not to cooperate, and the winter is actually harsh, that could lead to some social unrest," she said.

Georgieva noted that the global economy had two consecutive shocks -- the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine that has led to "horrible" economic consequences for those countries and Europe, and caused fears of a recession.

She added that the European Central Bank has to balance its monetary policy to fight inflation while adopting a stance "to keep the economy going."

The IMF in July revised down its growth forecast for the euro area by 0.2 percentage points to 2.6% this year and by 1.1 percentage points to 1.2% next year, because of the war and tighter financial conditions.