10 Sep 2008
Fears of recession in EU as Western Europe stagnates
According to Le Monde, Brussels has reported a possible E.U. recession as France, Britian and Spain all face major declines in GDP growth this year, a downturn blamed largely on the American financial crisis, which struck European markets this spring.
Of the Union’s major economies, only Germany appears unscathed by the crisis posting expected growth at 1.8 percent — a figure in line with earlier expectations.
Despite the crisis, Europe has avoided worse economic consequences due to gradually declining inflation, expecting the euro zone to experience a rate of inflation at 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter.