Menu

Fitch Ratings says that Sweden and Finland's approval of the Nord Stream gas pipeline project to ship Russian natural gas to Germany, significantly decreases potential future EU gas supply risk. The approval of the EUR7.4bn pipeline also mitigates a significant regulatory risk to the project itself that could have resulted in it being delayed.

Employment in the EU27 and the euro area began to fall in the second quarter of 2008 as a result of the economic crisis. Between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, employment dropped by 1.9% to 222.7 million persons in the EU27 and by 1.8% to 145.5 million in the euro area (EA16). However, the fall in employment was smaller than the contraction of economic activity (-4.9% GDP growth in the EU27 and -4.8% in the euro area in the same period). One of the reasons for this is the fact that employers can reduce the volume of hours worked and increase the use of part-time employment. This has been the case in the EU27 and in the euro area between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009. The analysis of the impact of the crisis on employment also shows that employees have been affected differently depending on their level of education.

In September 2009, compared with August 2009, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.7% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.4% in the EU27. In August retail trade dropped by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.

Company cash-flows would be boosted by tens of billions of euros if their bills were paid within 30 days. Making sure this happens is the aim of an update to the directive on late payments in business transactions currently being scrutinised by the European Parliament.

Between 2000 and 2008, EU27 trade in goods with India more than doubled in value: exports rose from 13.7 billion euro to 31.6 bn, while imports increased from 12.8 bn to 29.5 bn. As a result, the EU27 surplus in trade with India increased from 0.8 bn in 2000 to 2.1 bn in 2008. India accounted in 2008 for 2.4% of EU27 exports and 1.9% of EU27 imports, and was the EU27's 10th most important trading partner.

Industries that might leave the EU and hence escape its CO2 emission trading rules, could get up to 100% of their CO2 emission allowances for free, to encourage them to stay. A list of industry sectors and sub-sectors to be eligible for free allowances under the revised Emission Trading System (ETS) from 2013 was backed by the Environment Committee on Wednesday, in a bid to prevent relocation-driven "carbon leakage".

In September 2009 compared with August 2009, the industrial producer price index fell by 0.4% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.7% in the EU27. In August, prices increased by 0.5% in both zones.

The Commission's autumn forecast projects that the EU economy will emerge from recession in the second half of this year, although for 2009 as a whole, GDP is still set to fall by some 4%. A gradual recovery is expected with GDP forecast to grow by ¾% in 2010 and around 1½% in 2011.

The international investment position of the euro area vis-à-vis the rest of the world recorded net liabilities of EUR 1.6 trillion (representing 18% of euro area GDP) at the end of 2008. Compared with the end of 2007, the net liability position increased by EUR 0.4 trillion. This higher net liability position was mainly the result of net financial transactions (EUR 164 billion), revaluation effects due to exchange rate changes (EUR 108 billion) and other adjustments (due to new data for one euro area country) (EUR 204 billion).

In the second quarter of 2009, the annual growth rate of net disposable income in the euro area equalled -4.6%, compared with -4.4% in the first quarter of 2009. Final consumption in the euro area decreased by 0.4% annually in the second quarter, following an increase of 0.5% in the previous quarter. The annual growth rate of gross fixed capital formation decreased to -13.0% in the second quarter of 2009, from -10.9% in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2009, the annual growth rate of net saving increased to -58.2%, up from -64.9% in the previous quarter.