(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her warning of a difficult road ahead even as an economic recovery following months of coronavirus shutdowns starts to take hold.
“The worst is behind us and the hardest is yet to come,” Lagarde said in a video message for a United Nations event on Wednesday. The recovery is going to be “as uncertain and as uneven as the shock was decisive and across the board.”
It will also lead to a rise in inequality and unemployment that will leave the most vulnerable in difficult conditions, she said.
As the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic shifts, developing countries with weaker health systems in regions like south America are being hit hard. The International Labour Organization on Tuesday called for greater international solidarity and targeted support for disadvantaged members of society, to avoid existing inequalities being aggravated by the crisis.
Lagarde echoed the sentiment, saying “if we don’t put green and sustainable development ahead of everything else and solidarity as a key principle, we might be up for some strange, very unpleasant awakening.”
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