On the one hand, the most recent data show that economic activity is strengthening in the United States and in China, while Russia is pulling out of recession; on the other, the available data for the third quarter point to a fresh weakening of international trade.
Overall, uncertainty prevails: the difficulty of predicting the impact of technological development on the economy and employment and managing that of demographic trends has been compounded by growing political and geopolitical tensions. Uncertainty in the European Union has been heightened by a number of specific factors.