Outlook for EU 'rather bleak' this year: EU's Almunia

(BRATISLAVA) - The economic outlook this year for Europe is "rather bleak", the EU's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquin Almunia, said here Thursday.

"The outlook for the year ahead currently looks rather bleak," Almunia told an event here to mark Slovakia's accession to the eurozone.

While the single currency was so far protecting member countries from the worst of the global financial crisis and the euro was "proving a major asset," the eurozone was currently facing its "toughest test in its short history," Almunia said.

"2009 will not bring much relief," the commissioner continued. "We will have to deal with huge challenges."

The EU Commission in Brussels is scheduled to publish its latest economic forecasts next week.

Almunia refused to be provide any figures at this stage.

But he said: "If you look a the forecast from IMF, ECB and private forecasters, you see that all of us consider that 2009 will be a very difficult year in term of growth."

The EU was currently in recession, he said.

"But the bottom of the figures will be reached in mid-2009 and the measures currently being adopted ... at a European level ... should have a positive impact," Almunia said.

It would not be overoptimistic "to point to a global recovery at the end of 2009. This is perfectly possible, even if the times are difficult and uncertain," he said.