EU Commissioner sees eurozone growth of 2.0 pct at end of year

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Monday that he expected the eurozone economy to be growing by at least 2.0 percent at the end of this year.
He told the newspaper La Vanguardia that data for the first quarter should show a recovery in the eurozone.
In mid-April the European Commission held to its forecast that the eurozone economy would grow by 0.2-0.6 percent in the first quarter of this year and said that there would be a slight acceleration in the second quarter to 0.3-0.7 percent.
Almunia told the newspaper: "Our forecasts show growth which is not so strong as last year but with a rising trend. We estimate that (the eurozone) should grow at a rate opf 2.0 percent or more at the end of 2005."
The commission, in forecasts at the beginning of April, signalled eurozone growth of 1.6 percent for the whole of 2005.