国际英语资讯:EU sees broad-based economy recovery, but challenges remain_时事

国际英语资讯:EU sees broad-based economy recovery, but challenges remain

FRANKFURT,June 26 -- The European Union (EU) enjoyed a positive momentum of economic recovery in the first half of this year amid headwinds stemming from both inside and outside the bloc, including Brexit, terrorist threats, the refugee crisis and geopolitical risks which remain persistent challenges for the EU's sustained growth and integration.

BROAD-BASED RECOVERY

The political and economic union currently consisting of 28 member states saw a quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.6 percent, as all member states, except Greece, have maintained positive economic growth for three consecutive quarters.

国际英语资讯:EU sees broad-based economy recovery, but challenges remain1

President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi said in April that the dispersion in growth rates across both sectors and countries had narrowed significantly and both were at their lowest level since 1997, reflecting that the recovery in Europe has evolved from being fragile and uneven into a firm, broad-based upswing.

The European Commission has twice revised upwards its projection of GDP growth in EU since the beginning of 2017. According to the latest forecast released in May, the EU economy is expected to grow by 1.9 percent both in 2017 and 2018.

"The European economy has entered its fifth year of recovery, which is now reaching all EU member states. This is expected to continue at a largely steady pace this year and next," the European Commission concluded in its spring economic forecast.