Calendar of Economic Events. First Quarter of 2018

The European Union's interim economic forecast expects an acceleration of economic growth for the euro area and the EU. Nevertheless, sovereign debt rates exceed 100 percent in seven euro-zone countries. The President of the European Council proposed a free-trade agreement for the UK after the latter's exit from the Single European Market, the customs union and European jurisdiction. The European Council agreed to a transition phase as demanded by the UK until its exit in late 2020 and identified the requisite guidelines. While China, India and many African countries are concluding free-trade agreements, the USA is introducing protective customs tariffs, risking a trade war. – Austrian Finance Minister Hartwig Löger presented the double budget for 2018-19 to Parliament, which foresees in 2019 a surplus of the net lending-net borrowing rate (500 million €) for the first time since 1954.