Warning that a harsh winter could lead to social unrest in Europe, where the Russian invasion of Ukraine has already had “terrible” economic consequences and rekindled fears of a recession, the head of International Monetary Fund (IMF)Kristalina Georgieva.

Ms Georgieva stressed that the current situation means that the European Central Bank (ECB) will have to carefully balance its fight against inflation with “the need to keep going.”

“Of course, in some countries there are fears of a recession, or even if it is not a recession, it will feel like a recession this winter. And if Mother Nature decides not to cooperate and the winter is really harsh, it could lead to some social unrest,” he added.

Ms. Georgieva urged central bankers to “persistently” fight inflation, noting that many economists were wrong when they predicted inflation would fall last year. “Inflation is unwavering (…), which means that we need central banks to be equally uncompromising in the fight against it,” he stressed.

If fiscal and monetary policies go well, next year may be less painful. But if fiscal policy is not targeted, it could become “the enemy of monetary policy, fueling inflation,” he concluded.

^{According to REUTERS, APE-MPE}