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Eurozone “Out of the dark”

According to the European Commission the economic recovery in the EU is on the way as the growth forecasts for 2014 and 2015 have been updated. In addition the Commission stated that the 18-nation EU expects to grow by 1.2% in 2014 and 1.8% in 2015. The current figure is higher than previous forecasts.

As far as the UK is concerned, its economy would grow by 2.5% this year, which is a considerable move from the earlier predictions of 2.2%. But the European Commission still leaves this forecast at 2.4% for 2015.

At the same time the 28-nation Eurozone expects to grow by 1.5% this year and 2% next year.

The last predictions the European Commission issued were in November, 2013.

The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, says that the crisis is almost behind and recovery gathers ground. But he also mentions that the recovery is still slow. The Commissioner believes that in order to speed up the recovery and provide more workplaces for people it is necessary to stand firm and carry on the economic reform.

The Netherlands expects to grow by 1% which is considerably higher than previous 0.2%. Meanwhile as for Slovenia and Cyprus, the forecasts are less promising.

Andrew Walker about the improvement in the EU

The BBC correspondent Andrew Walker states that the predictions made by the European Commission do not prove a great change in the Eurozone, but still they reflect a visible improvement.

It is really a slow process. The 1.1% growth this year is an obvious improvement if compared to last year, but it is still not encouraging and does not solve the huge unemployment issue.

The recent forecasts for Cyprus and Slovenia are pessimistic, as the two economies will continue to decline this year. 

There are some other countries the forecasts of which have been also downgraded. For example, Italy can be listed here – a country that is currently fighting its ailing economy.

At the same time the predictions have been optimistic for Spain and expect it to grow this year.

Nevertheless the European Commission still mentions that even if it expects a gradual growth, the risk still remains. But, however, the situation is getting better and the “darkness” is already behind.