The European Commission today raised its growth projections for the euro zone, more confident than ever that the solid economic recovery in Europe will endure through 2019.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, said the euro zone economy would expand by 2.3% in 2018, up from a previous forecast of 2.1% made in November.
Growth would then continue at a solid pace next year, with the euro zone economy expanding by 2% in 2019, instead of the earlier-predicted 1.9%.
"The euro area is enjoying growth rates not seen since before the financial crisis," said EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.
"Unemployment and deficits continue to fall and investment is at last rising in a meaningful way," he said.
All signs are that the European economy, long a global laggard, is now firing on all cylinders.
Official data last week showed that growth in the euro zone shot up in 2017 to 2.5%, with unemployment currently at a nine-year low.
The European Commission has put Irish economic growth at 7.3% for 2017 as the economy expanded at a "solid pace", supported mainly by domestic activity.
The news was also especially positive for France, the euro zone's second biggest economy, which saw its forecast revised sharply higher to 2% for this year.
This was up from the 1.7% prediction just three months ago, and will be the first time the country will reach the psychologically important threshold since 2011.
It will also likely mean enough growth to keep France clear of breaching the EU's deficit limit, which is set in terms of the size of the economy.
Brussels said that the EU-27 as a whole, minus exiting Britain, would expand by 2.5% this year and 2.1% in 2019.
Britain, meanwhile, would expand far below that level, at 1.4% in 2018 and 1.1% in 2019.
However, the commission, which is also leading the EU-Britain divorce talks, markedly increased the UK's growth estimate for 2017 to 1.8%.
In November, the EU said Britain would only reach 1.5% growth.
Powerhouse Germany meanwhile, will remain above the 2% threshold, expanding by 2.3% in 2018 and 2.1% next year.
