” “” “” ” ” “"Clouds are clearly building up in the sky after the turbulence of last summer on the financial markets, the slowdown of the US economy and the oil prices rising all the time". Joaquín Almunia, commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, outlines a "worrying" picture of the EU economy. As he presented in Brussels the document with the autumn forecasts, he explains that growth "is slowing down" and risks of a slowdown "have increased". But "thanks to the strong worldwide growth and the sound economic fundamentals, negative effects should be limited". Figures for the 27 EU member states show a decrease in the GDP from 2.9% in 2007 to 2.4% in 2008 and even in 2009. In the euro-zone (13 States), figures drop from 2.6% of this year to 2.2% in 2008 and 2.1% in 2009. "Such slowdown explain the experts from the EU Executive is due to the effects of the turbulence on the financial markets, which have aggravated the funding conditions and increased uncertainty". However, "thanks to a dynamic worldwide scenario", "the downward trend from the spring forecasts is limited to 0.3% in 2008". (to be continued)” “” “
