Calendar of Economic Events. First Quarter of 2019
The UK Parliament is voting three times this quarter against the treaty of withdrawal negotiated by the government and the EU. Due to differences in the House of Commons and in order to avoid a "hard Brexit", the date of the Brexit is postponed by the European Council from 29 March to 12 April 2019 at the request of Prime Minister May. The European Central Bank calls on Italian banks to reduce their holdings of non-performing loans more quickly. Because of the slowdown in economic growth, the European Central Bank will maintain its expansive monetary policy, and the US central bank signals that it will not raise interest rates any further in 2019. In view of the dramatic economic crisis, a large part of Venezuela's population is emigrating. – In 2018, for the first time since 1974, Austria reports a surplus of 426 million € (0.1 percent of GDP) in its total public budget.