Recently, European countries have resumed their work and production. Driven by large-scale economic stimulus policies and other factors, a number of economic indicators have shown a positive trend. Some experts believe that as the epidemic is still not over, European countries still need to strike a balance between epidemic prevention and control and economic recovery.

With the phased and orderly implementation of the "unlocking" policy in many European countries, the European economy has begun the process of gradual recovery. The European Central Bank recently predicted that the European economy would rebound in the third quarter of this year.

Economic data have improved

"The restaurant reopened today and we have made careful preparations to look forward to returning to normal as soon as possible." On June 8, oyster Shells, a seafood restaurant in the center of Brussels, Belgium, reopened. Staff Elena, wearing a face mask, stood at the entrance of the restaurant, ready to receive the dining guests.

On the first day of work, the restaurant put most of the tables and chairs outside and offered a lunch special of 15.9 euros, but not many people came for lunch. "The outbreak has had a huge impact on the restaurant industry," the restaurant owner told reporters. "We've been closed for more than two months and we've been under a lot of pressure. It's great news to be back."

According to the third phase of the Belgian government's work and production resumption plan, restaurants and bars will resume business from June 8, but they must strictly abide by the hygiene and epidemic prevention regulations, such as keeping 1.5 meters distance between diners, no more than 10 people at each table, and restaurant staff must wear masks. In addition to the catering industry, recreational and sports activities, domestic tourism has also been resumed. Belgium's Princess Astride and Prime Minister Yves Vermes have also opened a ribbon cutting for the reopening of Brussels' iconic Atomic Sphere Tower to boost tourism. The Belgian government has announced that it will reopen its borders to the European Union, schengen area countries, Britain and others from June 15.

, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Greece, Italy and other European countries have also recently developed and orderly promote return to work and production plan by stages, a number of economic indicators started showing signs of recovery, manufacturing decline slowed markedly, improved optimism of the people for the economy as a whole, consumer confidence is gradually restored.

IHS Markit's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the euro zone rose sharply to 30.5 in May from 13.5 in April, but still fell short of the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the most difficult moment for The European economy is over as countries resume work and business and consumer activities resume.

The economic climate index of the European Union (EU) released recently increased by 2.9 to 66.7 in May compared with the previous month. Among them, the economic climate index of the Eurozone increased by 2.6 to 67.5, and the EMPLOYMENT confidence index of the EU rebounded by 11.3 to 70.2. The Commission said this meant signs of economic recovery were emerging, although the employment confidence index remained at a record low.

Stimulus policies have been introduced

Although some economic activity is slowly recovering, the impact of the epidemic continues. Many European countries have recently launched a series of fiscal and monetary stimulus policies aimed at stabilizing their economies.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has expanded its emergency asset purchase programme from €750bn to €1.35tn at its recent monetary policy meeting, beating market expectations. The ECB's asset purchase programme will grow at a rate of €20bn a month, with an additional temporary quota of €120bn until the end of the year to support financing of the real economy through at least June 2021.

The President of the European Commission, Von der Leyen, recently proposed to the European Parliament a 750 billion euro "recovery fund" to support member states' investments and reforms to restart the EU economy by stimulating private investment. The recovery fund will be linked to the EU's long-term budget for 2021-27 and will be allocated through specific projects in the EU budget, with 500 billion euros in grants and 250 billion euros in loans. If approved, the eu's next long-term budget will total 1.85 trillion euros.

Together with the 540 billion euro rescue plan agreed by the European Council earlier this year, the total financial funds at the EU level to deal with the epidemic and stimulate the economy will reach 1.29 trillion euros, and the total amount of economic stimulus funds is expected to reach 2.64 trillion euros. Mr Von der Leyen said it was hoped that strong action at the EU level would inject momentum into the eu's economic recovery and growth.

Germany has approved a €130bn stimulus package, on top of a €750bn rescue package. France announced 45 billion euros in financial assistance to companies and employees affected by the outbreak, and 300 billion euros in state guarantees for corporate bank loans; Italy released about 750 billion euros of liquidity and offered loan guarantees to troubled companies following an 80 billion euro emergency rescue plan. Other EU member states, including Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Croatia, Sweden and Norway, have also introduced bailouts and stimulus packages of varying sizes to revive their economies and boost growth.

Many European countries have also introduced support measures for the automobile, aviation and other industries hit hard by the epidemic. The French government has announced subsidies for electric and hybrid cars to boost car consumption. The German government reached an agreement with the European Commission to provide A €9 billion bail-out for Lufthansa through an economic stabilisation fund.

The recovery will be challenging

The European media generally believe that Europe's economic recovery has shown some positive signs driven by the massive stimulus policies, but the overall recovery momentum is still weak. At present, the epidemic prevention and control situation in some European countries is still grim. Countries need to strike a balance between epidemic prevention and control and economic recovery, and they still face a daunting task.

The European Central Bank recently forecast that the eurozone economy would contract by 8.7 per cent in 2020, with growth of 5.2 per cent and 3.3 per cent over the next two years. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told an online hearing of the European Parliament on Wednesday that the eurozone economy is experiencing an unprecedented contraction, with economic activity showing signs of recovery as the measures are slowly being lifted, but the improvement is not yet apparent. The eurozone economy could rebound in the second half of the year.

Eurovision news commented that the "recovery fund" proposed by the European Commission provided a new opportunity for the economic transformation of the EU and helped further promote the development of the EU's green economy. But for the EU to achieve its green development goals, it must coordinate the efforts of its member states, business and society to achieve more inclusive and equitable development. According to euronews, the EU should not simply provide funds to the market, but take this as an opportunity to promote the economic transformation of the EU, especially the development of the digital economy.

Neil Healy, chief economist at Capital Economics, agrees that Europe's economy has bottomed out, but the recovery is weak and will require sustained monetary and fiscal policy intervention over the long term.

A research report released by the Bruegel Institute, a well-known European think tank, pointed out that due to the impact of the epidemic, European countries' economic downturn, tax reduction, unemployment rate rise, social welfare expenditure increase and high deficit. Relying only on strong fiscal and monetary stimulus policies may pose new challenges to fiscal balance. The EU should further focus on enhancing competitiveness, social equity and inclusiveness and introduce a comprehensive package of measures at the EU level.