European Commission revises EU growth forecasts

European Commission revises EU growth forecastsbigstock European Union Flag 5391213

The European Commission has revised its growth forecasts for 2014 and 2015 after a period of positive economic recovery in the Eurozone, following in the footsteps of the International Monetary Fund. The Commission’s revisions add an extra 0.1 percentage points onto the earlier predictions, forecasting growth of 1.2% this year and 1.8% next year.

UK growth forecasts remain the same with the European Commission predicting a rise of 2.4%, despite many indicators that the country’s growth will be 2.5% in 2014.

Although the Commission’s changes are minimal they do reflect the gradual improvement that the Eurozone is making in its economic recovery. After the slight downturn from last year, this year’s 1.1% growth is a step in the right direction but still too low to create a turnaround the region’s problems, particularly regarding unemployment.

Individually European economies are fluctuating, with both Slovenia and Cyprus predicted to decline and Italy’s growth forecast has been downgraded, but Spain and the Netherlands are both forecast to increase. Reformation is still needed to make an impact on the struggling countries and bring Europe back up to strength and while the wider economy remains volatile, the slow progress of recovery is moving in the right direction.