Economic outlook worse than expected
The European Commission has had to revise its economic forecast for this year in light of the difficulties that Member States, such as Germany, are still facing. Policymakers now say that the euro zone will only grow by about 0.5 percent, rather than the 1 percent they had originally envisaged.
On Tuesday, the Commission said that the economy shrank in the second quarter, only the second time this has happened since the introduction of the single currency in 1999.
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In its analysis of the economic climate in the euro zone, the International Herald Tribune suggest that Europe's economic cycle often lags behind the US, which is showing signs of a recovery.
"The economic recovery which is already underway in several parts of the world should lead to an increase in euro area export demand", ECB chief Wim Duisenberg told MEPs in the European Parliament on Wednesday.