Europe's economic recovery does not yet seem sustained and the euro zone is unlikely to surpass its target for 2.3 per cent growth in 2005, EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Mr Joaquin Almunia said today.
Mr Almunia told an economic forum in Madrid that countries such as Germany, Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands were experiencing problems, including in some cases lagging growth.
"There are serious problems in some of the economies. The largest economy in the euro zone, Germany, has not yet seen a sustained recovery in internal demand. Italy has serious problems. ... Portugal has a very low growth rate as does the Netherlands," he said.
"There is not yet the sensation that the recovery is sustained nor that we will be able to surpass our current forecasts for next year for 2.3 percent growth in the euro zone," Mr Almunia said.