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EUROPE’S ECONOMY is to emerge from recession this year and grow by 0.7 per cent next year, according to revised data from the European Commission.

The figure marks an improvement of 0.8 per cent on April estimates, which predicted negative growth in 2010. However, the EU economy will contract by 4.1 per cent this year, 0.1 per cent worse than originally predicted, due to negative third-quarter activity in Britain. But by 2011 it will stabilise, leaving no country in negative territory – rising by 1.6 per cent in the EU and 1.5 per cent in the 16-country euro zone.