RED ALERT: British prime minister David Cameron, who’s spent the past few days taking part in the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, has warned of a looming economic downturn in Europe in an editorial published in The Guardian newspaper.
“The euro zone is teetering on the brink of a possible third recession, with high unemployment, falling growth and the real risk of falling prices, too. Emerging markets, which were the driver of growth in the early stages of the recovery, are now slowing down,” he wrote in Monday’s edition of the paper.
“Despite the progress in Bali, global trade talks have stalled while the epidemic of Ebola, conflict in the Middle East, and Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine are all adding a dangerous backdrop of instability and uncertainty.”
He noted that the British economy could not flourish in isolation: “In our interconnected world, wider problems in the global economy pose a real risk to our recovery at home. We are already seeing that, with the impact of the euro-zone slowdown on our manufacturing and our exports.”
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He added that global threats include protectionism, “the damaging effects of corruption and global tax avoidance,” and the instability caused by conflict and disease.
Cameron, who has his eye on the Tory party’s re-election next May, said the current government would stick to its long-term plan of dealing with its debts, maintaining low interest rates, re-balancing the economy, and using “monetary policy to support growth without adding to borrowing or debt.”