The head of the ECB told who to say "thank you" for the growth of the EU economy

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said at the annual symposium of the Federal Reserve System that the influx of foreign workers has supported the economic growth of the eurozone in recent years, offsetting the decline in the number of hours worked and real wages, Reuters reports.

According to the ECB, workers from outside the 20 states using the single currency accounted for just 9% of the workforce in 2022, but contributed half of its total growth over the past three years.

Lagarde also noted that without this contribution, the German economy would have been about 6% less than in 2019, and Spain's high economic performance after the pandemic is also largely due to the work of immigrants.

The population of the European Union in 2024 reached a record level of 450.4 million people, while the growth was due to immigration, which for the fourth year in a row compensated for the natural decline in the population.

However, this phenomenon has caused political tension and contributed to the rise of far-right parties, as a result of which some governments, such as Germany, have restricted family reunification and resettlement programs.