May 2002 - Nr. 5
Germany at Start of Upswing
TWIG - European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes painted an enthusiastic picture of the economic prospects for the European economy this year and next. Speaking this weekend in Washington, where meetings of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Group of Seven leading industrialized nations were taking place, Solbes told the Handelsblatt business daily that the European Commission is expecting the European Union’s combined GDP to grow by around 1.5% this year. He said he expects year-on-year growth to rise with every month, so that by the end of the year, it should be between 2.5% and 3%. For full year 2003, he anticipates growth of close to 3%. Germany is Europe’s largest economy.
On Tuesday (April 23), Germany’s six leading economic research institutes published their joint spring 2002 economic report. Although they trimmed their forecasts for economic growth in the Federal Republic, they see the country’s economy in the early stages of recovery. For the current year, the economists expect growth of 0.9%; in their fall 2001 report, they had forecast 1.3%. For 2003, they expect 2.4% overall economic expansion, with moderate inflation and a slight reduction in jobless numbers. Official government forecasts call for GDP to grow by 0.75% this year and 2.5% next. In Washington, German finance minister Hans Eichel asserted that Germany has coped with the latest economic downturn better than many other countries. He pointed to the country’s unerringly positive export outlook and its labour market.
