Commenting on forecasts from the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Jose Manuel Barroso said the euro zone is not facing another fiscal downturn. The European Commission President admitted the fact that the economic growth of the euro zone almost came to a standstill in the second quarter of 2014. A lot of experts voiced negative expectations of the whole euro area as well as Germany often referred to as the engine of the European economy’s growth. Earlier, the IMF downgraded its own projection of the euro area’s GDP to 0.8% in 2014 and 1.3% next year. "I don't think we are going to come back to recession. Of course ... we should avoid any kind of complacency, we should now push for stricter reforms to make our economies more attractive," Barroso noted. Meanwhile, Bank of America also lowered Germany’s GDP outlook to 1.4% from 1.5% for 2015 and to 1.3% from 1.8% for 2015. BofA presented the following estimates concerning economic growth of other EU countries: Italy’s GDP is expected to expand 0.1% and Spain’s economy is expected to show 1.5% growth versus 0.3% and 1.7% in previous forecasts. Barroso’s second commission term expired October 31, 2014. His ten-year presidency at the European Commission coincided with the financial crisis in Europe, as many investors fled the euro zone over recession fears. Former Luxembourg’s Prime Minister has been elected the 12th EC President.
