Brussels - The European Union's 27 finance ministers were
meeting in Brussels on Tuesday amid gloomy new forecasts predicting a
4-per cent contraction of the bloc's economy this year.
The meeting follows talks late Monday among the 16 countries that
share the euro, in which ministers expressed concern about rising
unemployment while ruling out the need for new fiscal stimulus.
There is broad agreement in Europe that the continent is currently
experiencing the brunt of the global economic crisis, and that a slow
recovery may soon be in sight.
'It seems these days and weeks (that) recession is at its worst,
but hopefully next year we start coming out of it,' said Czech
Finance Minister Miroslaw Kalousek, who was chairing the meeting as
holder of the EU's rotating presidency.
However, officials cautioned against reading too much into the
positive signals that are beginning to emerge from the United States
and China.
'Hopefully, the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train
(travelling) in the opposite direction,' Kalousek said.
During their meeting in Brussels, ministers were also expected to
formally endorse a decision taken by EU heads of state and government
in March to double to 50 billion euros (67 billion dollars) the total
amount of lending available to member states that run into financial
difficulty.
The EU has already provided billions of euros in emergency loans
to Hungary and Latvia and is currently discussing a similar request
by Romania.
Finally, ministers were set to seek a political agreement on a
compromise tabled by the Czech presidency aimed at raising the
minimum level of taxes applied by member states on tobacco products.
The price of a packet of cigarettes currently varies widely within
the 27-member bloc.
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