Haulage operators across the Continent will greet with skepticism the news that the recession in Europe is coming to an end.
The European Commission in its autumn bulletin says that the European economy returned to growth in the third quarter of this year, but that recovery is still weak, held back by high unemployment and high levels of debt.
The Commission says that the European economy will shrink this year by 4 per centr but should grow by 0.7 per cent next year and by 1.5 per cent in 2011.
The bulletin says that there are two big factors holding back recovery – unemployment and debt.
Unemployment, which is set to increase, although at a more modest level, will reach 10.25% next year for the EU.
