Brussels, 13/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - According to economic forecasts by Commissioner Pedro Solbes' services, economic growth in the Euro-zone could be around 0.1% and 0.4% during the first half of 2002 - a slight upturn compared to the second half of last year (0.2% contraction in the Euro-zone, according to Eurostat). The speed-up in the upturn is expected to continue into the second half of the year , with growth increasing from 0.4% to 0.7%. A Commission press release said that, "These forecasts confirm that the slow down has stopped, but that the upturn will be moderate".
This information corroborates the declarations made by Otmar Issing, member of the European Central Bank's (ECB) Board of Governors, in an interview published in the French daily, "les Echos". Mr Issing considers that ECB predictions are "realistic" and that at the end of 2002 potential growth will be in the range of 2%-2.5%.
He also believes that the low point in growth was reached at the end of 2001. Mr Issing, who is also the head economist at the ECB, explained that, ""We are counting on steady economic growth, at first this will be moderate but which will become stronger at the end of the year". Central bankers meeting in Basle, the Head Quarters of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), were cautious as to what dimension a world economic upturn would take but did confirm that the current growth in the Euro-zone would be "slow".