BRUSSELS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday sharply downgraded its economic growth outlook for the European Union (EU), citing the impacts of higher U.S. tariffs and persistent uncertainty.

In its Spring 2025 Economic Forecast, the commission cut its projections for real gross domestic product growth for the 27-country bloc to 1.1 percent in 2025 and 1.5 percent in 2026, down from 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, in the Autumn 2024 Forecast.

"This represents a considerable downgrade compared to the Autumn 2024 Forecast, largely due to the impact of increased tariffs and the heightened uncertainty caused by the recent abrupt changes in U.S. trade policy and the unpredictability of the tariffs' final configuration," the commission said.

The euro area, encompassing the 20 EU countries that share the single currency, is now expected to grow by 0.9 percent in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, also below earlier estimates.