ECONOMIC CLIMATE : INDICATORS CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE.

While growth forecasts for 2008 are on the point of being reviewed downwards by the European Commission, the latest indicators (for 2007) already confirm the trend. In December, the Business Climate Indicator again decreased (following a recovery in November). Although still at a high level, the BCI is back at its January 2001 level (which announced the end of an exceptional growth cycle associated with the transition to the year 2000).

The Economic Sentiment Indicator also continued to weaken (for both the EU27 and the eurozone), although it remains well above its long-term average. Industrial confidence increased only in Germany (+1), while it weakened in Spain (-2), France (-2), Italy (-1) and the UK (-3). It remained unchanged in Poland. In the service sector, sentiment improved in the UK (+1), while it decreased in Germany (-1) and France (-2). Consumer confidence decreased in Germany (-1), Spain (-2) and the UK (-1), while...