The OECD will cut its 2005 growth forecast for the euro zone when it updates its economic outlook next week, chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said today.
"We will revise it downwards substantially," Mr Cotis told a news conference in Helsinki, declining to give further details.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted euro zone 2005 growth of 1.9 per cent in November 2004, when it last updated its official forecasts.
In February it indicated it would cut the euro zone forecast when it issues its next update on May 24th.
OECD's current forecast is higher than forecasts by other major institutions, with the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission all expecting 1.6-percent growth this year.
Mr Cotis, visiting Finland to present a new publication on economic policy reforms, said the relative decline in Europe's economic performance versus the United States remained a key long-term challenge in the face of an ageing population and growth-restrictive public policies.
"If we manage to stop losing ground (to the U.S.), I would be very happy," he said. "There is a bit of a gap between the rhetoric of (European) policymakers and our scenarios."