Economic activity in the euro area is recovering. The economy has overcome stagnation, but so far the upswing has not materialized. In the second half of last year real GDP grew at an annualized rate of roughly 1 1/2 percent. In contrast with other large industrialized countries economy-wide...

Ihe economic situation in the euro area continues to be weak. In the course of 2003, real GDP has only stagnated. Several factors prevented the expected recovery to materialize. Last year's collapse of stock prices dampened activity, so did the high oil price. In addition, the uncertainty in the...

The economic expansion in Euroland is still moderate. In the course of 2002 real GDP increased at an average annual rate of only 1 percent. Investment continued to decline and recently also private consumption developed weakly. In the course of the slowdown, the unemployment rate increased only...