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(CEP News) Frankfurt - European Central Bank Governing Council member Michael Bonello said that although Europe is entering into a recession, it is likely to be less severe than that of the U.S.
"We know from experience that a recession in the European Union is more moderate that that in the U.S.," Bonello said during a Maltese Parliamentary meeting in Valetta on Tuesday. "The tendency in Europe is for a recession to be shallower than in the U.S., but it will take longer to emerge." Bonello, who is also the governor of the Central Bank of Malta, added that no one had foreseen the crisis and that it is difficult to predict how the situation will develop. "We are in a time, in circumstances that we have never experienced before," he said. "So, it is very difficult to forecast what will happen." However, Bonello did hold out hope for a recovery for 2010. "If the markets start to function again, if prices remain low and if confidence comes back, then maybe consumers, who are holding back on spending on luxury items at the moment, will be reassured," the central banker said. "If that confidence comes back, we could begin to see that movement again in 2010." By Todd Wailoo,
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