How is the EU addressing rising energy prices and record inflation in the Eurozone?

Inflation has reached record highs in countries using the euro, as Europe tries to tackle its cost of living crisis.

Inflation hit 8.6% in June in the 19 countries that use the currency, breaking the previous record of 8.1% in May.

An increase in energy costs, fuelled by the war on Ukraine, is one of the reasons for the rate, which is the highest since recordkeeping of the euro began in 1997.

But how is the EU looking to address these challenges? Euronews spoke to the European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, to try to answer that question.

Interview in full:

Maria Psara, Euronews: The European Commission has revised its economic estimates. It seems that for Europe, the worst is yet to come.

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy: Well, indeed, we are already in, so to say, troubled waters.

Of course, 24 February was a game changer, not only for geopolitics, for peace, for the victims in Ukraine, but it was a game changer also for our economy.

Now I think we are still experiencing a very moderate level of growth.

So, I will not participate to this sort of prophecy of catastrophe. We estimate that we will have growth at 2.7% this year, which will decline to 1.5% next year.

Maria Psara, Euronews: What are the basic scenarios you are working on?

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy: We are working on a scenario where inflation is probably peaking in these weeks.

We estimate that inflation will reach a peak in the third quarter of this year.

And then slowly going down in the last quarter of this year. The annual figure is 7.6% for this year and 4% for next year.

Of course, this is the baseline scenario. And the baseline scenario assumes that the energy supply will remain more or less as it is.

Of course,