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In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production grew by 1.6% in the euro area (EA15) and by 0.6% in the EU27 in January 2008, compared with the previous month. In December 2007, production decreased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU27.

The first estimate for the euro area (EA15) trade balance with the rest of the world in January 2008 gave a 10.7 bn euro deficit, compared with -7.3 bn in January 2007. The December 2007 balance was -4.1 bn, compared with +2.3 bn in December 2006. In January 2008 compared with December 2007, seasonally adjusted exports and imports rose by 7.4%

The Conference Board reported that the leading index for France declined 0.6 percent and the coincident index increased 0.1 percent in January.

European Commission decided to add the Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld standard (DVB-H) to the EU List of Standards, which serves as a basis for encouraging the harmonised provision of telecommunications across the EU.

The European Commission today adopted proposals for the amendment of the VAT Directive and the VAT Administrative Cooperation Regulation to speed up the collection and exchange of information on intra-Community transactions from 2010 onwards. This will enable the Member States to detect carousel fraud very quickly. The proposals follow on from the Communication on the improvement of administrative cooperation between Member States to improve the fight against VAT fraud . They are part of a range of legislative and administrative measures which have been, or are about to be, agreed in order to combat VAT fraud more effectively.

While larger than its Baltic counterparts in terms of value, the Lithuanian pharmaceutical market remains one of the smallest in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, according to Research and Markets study.

The seasonally adjusted number of persons employed in the euro area(EA13) rose by 0.2% (270 000 persons) during the fourth quarter of 2007, according to provisional national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Total hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA13) rose by 2.7% in nominal terms in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with 2.5% for the previous quarter. In the EU27, the annual rise was 3.5% up to the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with 3.7% for the previous quarter.

Euro area annual inflation was 3.3% in February 2008, up from 3.2% in January. A year earlier the rate was 1.8%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in February 2008.

In January 2008 compared with December 2007, seasonally adjusted industrial production grew by 0.9% in both the euro area (EA15) and the EU27. In December 2007 production remained stable in both zones.