“The fundamentals of the EU economy are robust: after six years of growth, unemployment in the EU is at its lowest since the turn of the century and the aggregate deficit below 1% of GDP. But the challenging road ahead leaves no room for complacency. All policy levers will need to be used to strengthen Europe’s resilience and support growth”. Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, provided a detailed explanation of the economic forecast. He presented the data and statistics, while also making some remarks – as he himself said – that go beyond his role. When, for instance, he commented on the positive figures related to Central and Eastern European economies “despite – he said – growing anti-EU sentiments in these countries”. He also made a joke about Brexit: “I could have spoken only in French today”, if the UK had left the EU on 31 October as originally planned. “But I still have to speak in English…”. Going back to the forecast, the Commission stated that the “persisting trade tensions between the US and China and high levels of policy uncertainty, especially with respect to trade, have dampened investment, manufacturing and international trade. With global GDP growth set to remain weak, growth in Europe will depend on the strength of more domestically-oriented sectors”.