European Commission sees recovery ‘gaining ground’

The wider 28-nation EU’s prospects have been revised up by 0.1 percentage points, to 1.5% in 2014 and 2% in 2015.

The last time the Commission issued its forecasts was in November last year.

“Recovery is gaining ground,” said Olli Rehn, commissioner for economic and monetary affairs. “The worst of the crisis may now be behind us.”

However, he also warned that the recovery was “still modest”.

“To make the recovery stronger and create more jobs, we need to stay the course of economic reform,” he added.

The Commission’s forecasts highlight the disparity between the performances of different countries within the EU.