Brussels, 29/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - As the German economy seems to be slipping a little deeper into a slump (the monthly barometer of the IFO economic institute measuring the business climate in western Germany slipped from 89.9 points in July to 88.8 points in August), the European Central Bank (ECB) is beginning to express doubts about the strength of the economic revival in the euro area. ECB Chief Economist Otmar Issing said on Wednesday, in an interview with the German financial daily Boersen-Zeintung, that in contrast to what has been projected until now, growth is no longer expected to reach a level of 2% to 2.5% by the end of the year. "The expected acceleration of growth did not occur", he acknowledged, without giving precise figures. He explained that rather than climbing as expected, growth had instead stayed on a plateau. Mr Issing nevertheless asserts that there is no reason to fear a recession. "A general economic decline can neither be observed nor is it expected", he states in the interview, going on to repeat the ECB position on the Stability and Growth Pact, namely that it is valid not only for the smaller states, but also for the big ones.