Menu

Between 2000 and 2009, EU27 exports of goods to the 33 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries grew more slowly than imports: exports rose from 59 billion euro to 66 bn, while imports increased from 54 bn to 74 bn. As a result, the EU27 balance of trade with the LAC countries turned from a 5 bn surplus in 2000 to a 9 bn deficit in 2009. This change is due to an increase in the EU27 deficit in primary goods (from -27 bn in 2000 to -42 bn in 2009), while the EU27 surplus in manufactured goods remained stable at 32 bn. The LAC countries accounted for just over 6% of the EU27's total external trade in goods in 2009.

Europe's digital economy is growing in strength, spreading throughout all sectors of the economy and reaching into all areas of our lives, according to the European Commission's Digital Competitiveness report. Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have driven half of the productivity growth in Europe over the past 15 years. Six out of ten Europeans regularly use the internet. However, if Europe wants to fully exploit the potential benefits of the digital economy, it must step up a gear and provide faster broadband and an internet people trust, improve citizens' skills, and encourage even more ICT innovation. The European Commission will propose specific measures in these areas with its Digital Agenda for Europe, a flagship of the Europe 2020 strategy, to be launched shortly.

The Rightmove House Price Index for May 2010 is released Monday 17th. Average asking prices in the UK edged up by 0.7% over the past month to 237,134 pounds Sterling.

The annual growth rate of the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents decreased from 6.3% in February 2010 to 6.0% in March. For the outstanding amount of quoted shares issued by euro area residents, the annual growth rate decreased from 3.0% in February 2010 to 2.8% in March.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. increased 1.0 percent, and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.2 percent in March.

The recent crises and the risk for the stability of the euro area have underlined vividly the interdependence and exposed the vulnerability of Member States, in particular inside the euro area. The European Union and Member States have taken coordinated and determined action: This included not only short-term measures to stabilise the financial sector, revitalise the economy or ensure the solvency of Greece and the stability of the Eurozone, but it also entailed the setting up of a medium- and long-term vision to put Europe on the path of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth ("Europe 2020"). Now the time has come also to draw far-reaching lessons concerning the way economic policies are dealt with. Therefore, the Commission proposes to reinforce decisively the economic governance in the European Union.

GDP increased by 0.2% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 during the first quarter of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2009, growth rates were 0.0% and +0.1% respectively.

In March 2010 compared with February 2010, seasonally adjusted industrial production grew by 1.3% in the euro area (EA16) and by 1.2% in the EU27. In February production increased by 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.

The unemployment rate in the EU27 has grown since the first quarter of 2008 as a result of the economic crisis. However, the increase has been smaller than in the US, where the rate has overtaken the EU27 despite having been much lower at the start of the crisis. On a more detailed level, similar patterns in the evolution of unemployment by gender and educational level during the crisis can be observed in the EU27 and the US. Long term unemployment is higher in the EU27, but rising fast in the US.

Between 2000 and 2009, employment in the agricultural sector in the EU27 decreased by 25%, the equivalent of 3.7 million full-time jobs. It fell by 17% in the EU15 and by 31% in the 12 Member States (NMS12) that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. In 2009, employment in the agricultural sector was equivalent to 11.2 million full-time jobs in the EU27, of which 5.4 million were in the EU15 and 5.8 million in the NMS1.