Brussels (AFP) – The EU on Thursday laid out a stark warning that a sudden rise in trade protectionism was the biggest threat to growth in Europe, as it confirmed its solid economic projections for 2018 and 2019.

“The biggest risk to this rosy outlook is protectionism, which must not become the new normal: that would only hurt those of our citizens we most need to protect,” EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said in a statement.