Economic growth in the European Union will slow this year but there is no risk of recession, the chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview today. Juncker is finance minister of Luxembourg.
He told Les Echos newspaper that growth in 2008 will 'certainly be less strong than in 2006 and 2007 but will be only slightly below the potential for growth of 2%'. He added that Europe is not at risk of recession.
'At the moment in Europe there is no need for the launch of a vast pogramme to stimulate the economy,' Juncker said.
Last week, the director general of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said it was urgent to prepare stimulus plans to be ready to be put into effect if needed to counter the slowdown arising from the US sub-prime home loan crisis.
